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ENGLAND 

» 


BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST, 


imtsitoir toitlj tspiai xtfmm to ito 
ptfrarj Cjjratttr. 

\W^' \ 

BY G^ SYDENHAM, C.M., M.R.C.P., 

% ♦ 

AUTHOR OP “ NOTES OP LESSONS,” ETC.. 

HEAD MASTER OP THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, CANNOCK. 



Dieses schcene Land 
1st mein Yaterland. 



ftcftrtlsall: 

J. R. ROBINSON, STEAM PRINTING OFFICE, THE BRIDGE. 

1861. 


/ 






PEEPACE. 


\ 


Englishmen of the present age are too apt to enjoy the 
comforts which a merciful Providence has placed within 
their reach without duly reflecting upon the several steps 
by which those comforts have been attained. Wellington 
and Nelson may have become “household words,” yet a 
large portion of our population would hesitate to decide 
whether a naval or land battle was fought at Trafalgar. 
If such be the case, what know they of Blenheim or 
Eamillies, of Bosworth, Barnet, or Evesham ? And if 
they are ignorant of the great military events which have 
characterized their country’s history, what must be the 
state of their knowledge with regard to the social or 
literary history of their fatherland. 

If ignorance of such topics as I have alluded to be a 
fact, the cause certainly cannot be attributed to a want 
of well-written works upon the various subjects. Histories 
of England have been published in every variety of style, 
upon every possible topic, and at every conceivable price ; 
and yet, notwithstanding this fact, I venture to intrude 
another. I am not vain enough to suppose that this 
luminary of mine will be the panacea to dispel existing 
darkness; but I do know that it will not, fortunately, 
render the darkness more intense. I do know that it will 



IV 


PREFACE. 


penetrate into homes where such a work has rarely made 
its appearance before, and like its compeers may have 
some influence upon the minds of its readers. 

But it is not sufficient that a work should be written 
with such negative prospects as those I have alluded to. 
I should be suspected of a want of truthfulness if I 
asserted that I did not expect positive advantages to 
accrue from its perusal. 

I do not say that I have made some grand discovery 
of a MS. that has not recently seen the light: on the 
contrary, I am well aware that the bulk of facts to which 
I have directed attention in the text may be noticed in 
histories already before the public. But one thing I do 
claim for it, viz., that it contains matter referred to only 
in large and expensive books.—I claim for it the privilege 
of being the first moderate sized work that contains a 
systematic history of the literary condition of the early 
inhabitants of this country. 

A few words will convey to the reader the necessary 
information respecting its design and the object of its 
publication. In its present form it is necessarily 
fragmentary. Such was not its contemplated character, 
however. After the successful publication of my “ Notes 
of Lessons,” I proposed to myself to write a second part 
on School Organization, &c., prefixing thereto a brief 
sketch of the history of education from the earliest period 
to the present time. I accordingly commenced my 
researches for materials. So diffuse were the notices of 
the early literary characters of the country, yet so in¬ 
teresting, that I determined to write a popular literary 
history of the British isles. Very soon I found, however, 
that so intimately was the j>olitical and social history 
of England blended with the educational, that to write 
popularly of the one it would be necessary to allude to 


PREFACE. 


V 


the other. Both were accordingly touched upon; but 
ere I had reached the period of the Norman conquest I 
had arranged matter enough for an octavo volume of 
four hundred pages, and that to continue the work would 
be too great a tax upon my spare time, even supposing 
my abilities to have been equal to the task. But a yet 
further difficulty presented itself. Unless I could get 
some publisher to undertake the expense of its publication 
I could not hope to see it in print. I had several offers 
made me, but none which I deemed I could with due 
prudence accept. I accordingly threw the MS. aside, 
and should possibly never have looked into it again, had 
not the following circumstances induced me to make use 
of at least a portion of it. 

I found upon my appointment to the Mastership of 
the Grammar School, at Cannock, the buildings in a 
miserable condition, with no funds to improve them, and 
I accordingly offered the profits which might be derived 
from the sale of 1,000 copies of the portion which I had 
selected (if such number could be disposed of by private 
subscription) to the trustees to improve the condition of 
the building. The trustees accepted the offer, and a 
canvass was forthwith commenced. Within a period of 
four months eight hundred and eighty copies have been 
subscribed for, the remaining one hundred and twenty 
being unsold. 

In this abridgment of my work those portions relating 
to Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, and the smaller islands, 
have, with a few exceptions, been omitted, as well as 
those portions relating particularly to the grammar and 
composition of the language, specimens of the writings of 
the literary characters, and notices of some of the characters 
themselves. These parts were left out to limit the 
expense of publication. 


VI 


PBEFACE. 


I may only further observe that should the sale of a 
future edition of the work prove satisfactory, I shall 
(d.v.) continue the history of our country to the present 
time, in a series of similarly small manuals. 

My grateful acknowledgements are due to P. E. Hussey, 
Esq., of Wyrley drove, for the use of his valuable library, 
and for the kind personal assistance he rendered me 
during the progress of the work. To the Revs. Dr. 
Rowley and F. T. Blackburne, to Miss Parkes, Mr. Sluter, 
and Mr. Sanders, for the trouble they took in procuring 
works of reference for me for the undertaking. 

In laying this manual before the public, I have to claim 
for a young author the benefit of their forbearance, and 
to request that the mantle of their indulgence may be 
thrown over the numerous defects which he fears will be 
found to disfigure it. 

Cannock , February 6th, 1861. 


LIST OE SUBSCRIBERS 

TO 

G. SYDENHAM’S NEW WORK, 

i 

ENGLAND BEFORE THE NORMAN CONCtUEST. 


Crnstecs of % Grammar Jfofyocrl, Cannock. 

NAMES. COPIES. 

The Right Hon. Lord Hatherton.20 

The Most Noble The Marquis of Anglesey .20 

Col. The Hon. E. R. Littleton . 5 

Wm. Masfen, Esq., (and family).20 

F. Gilpin, Esq., (and family) .20 

B. Gilpin, Esq.20 

The Rev. F. T. Blackburne. 4 

H. C. Vernon, Esq. 4 

J. Collis, Esq. 8 

Mr Cope (and family) . 8 

Mr Burnett . 5 

Mr Poyner . 4 

Mr Tomlinson. 5 


The Right Hon. The Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot . 4 

The Right Hon. The Earl of Harrowby . 8 

The Right Hon. The Earl of Lichfield .12 

The Right Rev. The Lord Bishop of Lichfield .. 8 

Sir J. C. Reade Bart. Shipton Court . 2 

Foster, W. O. Esq., Slourton Castle . . 2 













































NAMES. 


NAMES. 


COPIES. 


COPIES. 

Aston, Mr, Pillaton. 4 

Adams, Mr, Leacroft . 2 

Adams, Mrs, Cannock . 1 

Ault, Mr, Cannock. 2 

Atkinson, Rev. T. D., Rugeley 1 

Alblaster, Mrs., Norton . 1 

Adams, Mr, Chelmsford. 1 

Allen, Rev., Saltley. 1 

Anderson, Mr, Cannock. 1 

Aston, Mrs «L, Wombourne ... 1 

Allen, Mr, Kingswood . 4 

Auden, Mrs, Rowley . 1 

Arch, Mr, Coventry. 4 

Arch, Mr T., Bloxwich. 1 

Allcock, Mr, Shrewsbury .. 1 

Blackbume, Mrs, Cannock 

Parsonage . 4 

Barnes, Mr, Pillaton . 2 

Blackford, J. Esq., Cannock ... 4 

Biddle, Mr, Cannock . 4 

Barlow, Mr, Cannock . 1 

Brassington, Miss, Cannock ... 2 

Bailey, Mr, Cannock . 2 

Bamford, Mr, Great Wyrley ... 4 

Betson, Mrs, Churchbridge ... 1 

Barwise, Mrs, Birmingham ... 1 

Bate, Mrs, Hatherton . 1 

Brewster, Mrs R., Heathy Mill 1 
Brewster, Miss, Wombourne ... 1 

Booth, Mrs, . 1 

Benton, Mr, Cannock . 2 

Bennett, Mr, Cannock . 1 

Burrell, Mr, Birmingham ... 1 

Bradley, Mr, Leamington ... 2 

Bird, Mr W., Cannock . 1 

B. T. Mr, Cannock. 1 

Babbage, Mr, Truro. 1 

Bickford, Mr T., Saredon ... 4 

Bickford, Mr G., Paradise ... 1 

Bickford, Mr W., Paradise ... 1 

Bickford, Mr H., Saredon ... 2 

Box, Mr T., Cannock . 1 

Baldwin, Mr, Cannock . 1 

Bagnall, J. Esq., and Sons ... 5 

Bailey, Mr, Dudley. 1 

Bagnall, T. Esq., Great Barr ... 6 

Bo water, Mrs E., Rowley. 1 

Bate, Mr B., Rowley. 1 

Blackburne, Mrs G. 2 

Blackbume, Master G. 1 

Beckley, Mr C. 1 


Bamford, Mr W. 1 

Biggs, Mr. 1 

Buckle, W. T. Esq., Wychwood 1 
Barter, Rev. C., Rural Dean, 

Sarsden . 1 

Barker, Mr C., Milton . 1 

Bayliss, Mr R , Shipton. 1 

Blizard, Mr T., Stow . 1 

Bould, Mr W., Shipton . 1 

Bealey, J. E. Esq., Bloxwich... 2 
Balderson, Mr, Hemel Hempstead 2 
Burton, Rev. R. L., Shrewsbury 1 

Bayliss Mr, Shrewsbury. 1 

Bamaby, Mr, Shrewsbury ... 1 

Brookfield, Mr, Shrewsbury .. 1 

Barnes, Mr, Shrewsbury. 1 

Bishop, Mr, Shrewsbury. 1 

Bradbury, Mr, Cannock. 1 

Bliss, Mr J., Ascott.. ... 1 

Burr, A. Esq., Halesowen ... 2 

Bloomer, Mr, Halesowen. 1 

Bache, Miss, Halesowen ... 1 

Crutchley, Mr, Wyrley . 4 

Mac Carthy and Sons, Cannock 8 

Curtis Mr, Leacroft. 2 

Cooper, Mr, Cannock . 2 

Crockett, Miss, Cannock. 2 

Chamberlain, Mr, Churchbridge 1 

C. M., Hatherton . 1 

Chambers, C. Esq,, Winton .. 4 
Cotton, Mr, Cannock .. .. 2 

Crutchley, Mr, Wyrley. 1 

Cliff, Mr, Hednesford . 4 

Cotton, Mr, Cannock Mill ... 4 

Cowern, Mr, Calf Heath. 2 

Clarke, Mr, Shareshill . 2 

Crabtree, Mr T., Gold’s Hill ... 1 

Curling, Captain, London ... 2 

Cutler, Mr, Rowley. 1 

Chambers, Miss, Rowley. 1 

Chambers, Mr, Penkridge ... 1 

Cartwright, C. Esq., Dudley .. 1 

Cotterell, Mr, Walsall ... 1 

Carter, Rev. E. D., Shipton ... 1 

Cheatle, T. Esq., Burford ... 1 

Coombes, Mr W„ Shipton ... 1 

Cranstone, Mr,Hemel Hempstead 1 
Colley, Rev. J., Shrewsbury ... 1 

Cole, Mr . 1 

Cock, Mr . 1 





Jrom % CJjurtbbrib-ge Morks. 


NAMES. COPIES. 

Anslow, Mr 0. 1 

Allen, Mr S. 1 

Beech, Mr T. 1 

Brooks, Mr J. 1 

Brooks, Mr G. 1 

Beasley, Mr J. 1 

Boot, Mr W. 1 

Boot, Mr E. 1 

Buck, Mr W. 1 

Bennett, Mr J. 1 

Bird, Mr J. 1 

Collins, Mr E. 1 

Cooper, Mr J. 1 

Carpenter, Mr G. 1 

Cartwright, Mr H. 1 

Dawson, Mr G. 1 

Eaton, Mr S. 1 

Homeshaw, Mr J. 2 

Jackson, Mr S. 2 

Jones, Mr G. 1 

Jones, Mr Thos. 2 

Juckes, Mr H. 1 

Juckes, Mr E. 1 


NAMES. COPIES. 

Latham, Mr W. i 

Lawson, Mr J. l 

Lewis, Mr VV. i 

Litler, Mr B. i 

North, Mr W. l 

Orton, Mr E. i 

Parker, Mr G. l 

Poynor, Mr J. l 

Reynolds, Mr J. D. 1 

Roth well, Mr H. 1 

Stringer, Mr J. 1 

Sambrook, Mr C. Jun. 1 

Silvester, Mr J. 1 

Smith, Mr E. 1 

Smith, Mr H. I 

Thomas, Mr E. 1 

Thomas, Mr J. 1 

Whitehouse, Mr C. 1 

Whitehouse, Mr W. 4 

Whitehouse, Mr J. 1 

Ward, Mr F. 1 

Yates, Mr C. 1 


Dunkeley, Miss, Cannock ... 1 

Davies,$Mr, Wyrley Grove ... 1 

Dawson, Miss, Bridgeford ... 1 

Drury, Mr Cannock. 1 

Drew, J. R. Esq., B.A. 1 

Darby, Mr, Huntington. 4 

Downing, Miss, Rowley. 1 

Darby, Miss, Rowley . 1 

Dixon, Mr J. T., Rowley ... 1 

Davenport, Mr, Wyrley. 1 

Dalton, Mr, Saresden . 1 

Dalphin, Miss B., Stow . 1 

Dee, Mr T. Shipton. 1 

Douglas, C. P. Esq., Shrewsbury 1 
Davies, C. Esq. 1 

Evans, Miss, Four Crosses ... 4 

Eglington, Mrs, Aldridge ... 1 

Earp, Mrs, Graisely House .. 3 


Edwards, Mr J. 1 

Ellis, Mr, South Lambeth ... 1 

Ellis, Mr T , Shipton . 1 

Ellis, Mr J., Water End. 1 

Edwards, Mr R , Shrewsbury... 1 
Edwards, Mr J., Shrewsbury ... 1 

Edwards, Mr W., Shrewsbury 1 
Eyles, Mr, Halesowen . 1 

Fellows, T Esq., Wyrley ... 10 
Fletcher, Rev. Mr, Willenhall 1 

Fox, Mr, Halesowen . 2 

Fellows, Miss S. A., Hednesford 5 

Frost, Mr J« . 1 

Fletcher, Rev, H , Shrewsbury 1 
Frail, J Esq , Shrewsbury ... 1 

Fleet, Mr, Shrewsbury . 1 

Fell, W. Esq., Shrewsbury ... 1 

France, Mr, Shrewsbury. 1 




























NAMES. 


COPIES. 


COPIES. 


NAMES. 


Goodwin, Mr, Otherton. 4 

Goodwin, Mr, Huntington ... 4 

Gripton, Mr T. 1 

Ganderton, Mr, Cannock. 2 

Garratt Esq., London . 4 

Gover, Rev., Saltley. 1 

Galletley, Mr, Hatherton ... 1 

Greensiil, Mr, Wyrley . 6 

Gripton, Mr, Saredon . 4 

Gardner, J. Esq., . 1 

Greasley, Miss, Wolverhampton 1 

Gorton, Mr R., Milton . 1 

Grove, Mr A., Milton . 1 

Gittoes, Miss M., Hill Top ... 1 

Gem, E. Esq., Halesowen ... 2 

Granger, Mr F., Halesowen ... 1 


Hall, Mr, Wyrley . 4 

Hatton, Mr, Wyrley . 4 

Hobdey, Mr, Cannock . 4 

Hordern, Miss, Cannock. 2 

Hall, Mr, Cannock. 4 

Hussey,P. F. Esq.,Wyrley Grove 4 
Harrison, W. Esq., Norton Hall 4 

Hordern, A. Esq,, Oxley. 2 

Holford, Mr, Hatherton. 1 

Hobdey, Mr, Saredon . 4 

Henney, Mr, Cannock . 2 

Henney, Mr, Jun., Cannock ... 1 

Hawkins, Mr J., Wyrley ... 2 

Hopwood, Mr, Hednesford .. 4 

Hinks, J. Esq. Handsworth ... 2 
Hawkins, Mr J., Liverpool ... 1 

How, W. W. Esq., Shrewsbury 2 
How, T. M. Esq., Shrewsbury 2 
Havergal, Rev. W. H., Shareshill 2 

Harris, Mr, Shareshill . 4 

Hutton, Rev. F. P. B. N. ... 1 

Harrison, Mr, Penkridge. 1 

Herbert, Mr J., Hagley Hall... 6 

Hadley, Mr G., Rowley. 1 

Heath, Mr, Halesowen . 2 

Heath, Mr S., Bleddington ... 1 

Harrison, Miss J. 1 

Hales, Mr J., Marlowes. 1 

Halsey, Rev. J. F. Moore, Gad- 

desden Park. 2 

Hanson, Mr, Shrewsbury ... 2 

Holt, Mr . 1 

Hale, Mr, Oldbury . 1 

Hone, The Yen. Archdeacon, 
Halesowen . 1 


Homfry, D. Esq , Halesowen 1 
Hodgetts, Mr, Halesowen ... 1 

Jackson, Mr, Aldridge . 4 

Jackson, Mr, Shareshill. 1 

Johnson, Mr R., Newcastle ... 1 

Johnson, .Mr, Walsall . 2 

Jennings Mr,Hemel Hempstead 1 
Jeffery, Mr, Hemel Hempstead 1 
Johnson, C.H. Esq.,Shrewsbury 1 
Jones, Mr G. S., Shrewsbury... 1 

Keeling, Mr C., Yew Tree Farm 4 

Kennedy, Mrs, Aldridge. 1 

Kimber, J. W. Esq., Shipton ... 1 

Kerr, Mr, Shrewsbury . 1 

Kempson, Rev. E. A.,Halesowen 1 


Lee, G. Esq , Cannock . 4 

Lindop, Mr, Great Wyrley ... 1 

Lovatt, Mr, Four Crosses ... 4 

Lindop, Mr, Bloxwich . 2 

Lindop, Mr R., Cannock. 1 

Lister, Esq., Penkridge. 4 

Latimer, Rev. G. B. P., Bir¬ 
mingham . 2 

Levett, Mr J. A., Rowley ... 1 

Lakeman, Mr, London . 2 

Lockwood, Rev. J. Kingham ... 1 

Lloyd, Rev. J. B., Shrewsbury 1 
Loxdale, J. Esq., Shrewsbury... 1 

Lewis, Mr, Shrewsbury. 1 

Lee, Mr, Oldbury . 1 

Moseley, Captain, The Coppice 10 

Masters, Mr, Coventry . 1 

Mann, Mr, Norton . 1 

Marshall, Mr, Cannock. 1 

Moore, Mr, Cannock . 1 

Moss, Mr, Hednesford . 4 

Marsh and Sons, Walsall ... 4 

Miles, Mr, Wednesbury. 1 

Matthews, Mr, Shrewsbury ... 1 

Morgan, Mr, Shrewsbury ... 1 

Morris, Mr H., Shrewsbury ... 1 

Meadows, Mr, Gnosall . 2 

Molliett, Rev. J., Halesowen... 1 
Moore, E. Esq., Halesowen ... 1 

Neath, Mr, Halesowen . 1 


i 


















NAMES. 


COPIES. 


NAMES. 


COPIBS. 


Oakley, Mr, Shrewsbury. l 

Oakley, Mr, Jun., Shrewsbury 1 
Osborne, Mr, Shrewsbury ... 1 

Oldfield, Rev. C., Quinton ... 1 

Overend, Mr, Halesowen. 1 

Parkes, Mr, Cannock . 4 

Palmer, Mr, Cannock . 4 

Perry, Mr, Portobello . 2 

Parkes, Miss, Stafford . 5 

Parkes, Miss, Cannock . 4 

Parker, Mrs, Great Wyrley ... 2 

Philips, Mr, Cannock . 1 

Plant, Mr, Cannock. 2 

Price, Mr, Cannock. 3 

Pickerill, Mr, Cannock . 2 

Poyner, Mr E., Wyrley. 1 

Pardoe, Mr, Stourbridge. 1 

Pitt, Mr G., Dudley. 1 

Pearce, C. Esq., London. 6 

Peacock, J. Esq. 2 

Pratt, Mr R., Spelsbury. 1 

Pratt, Mrs, Shipton. 1 

Putt, Mr S., Langley . 1 

Peele, J. J. Esq., Shrewsbury 1 

Rowley, Rev. Dr., Willey ... 2 

Rowley, Mr, Norton . 1 

Robinson, Mr J. R. Cannock ... 10 
Roberts, Mr, Shrewsbury ... 1 

Rowland, Esq., London. 1 

Reeves, Mr, J., Bloxwich ... 2 

Rawlins, Mr J., Milton. 1 

Rawlins, Mr E., Milton. 1 

Reynolds, Mr S., Langley Mill 1 
Ralph, Mr, Hemel Hempstead 1 
Rowley, Mr R. W, Shrewsbury 1 

Robertson, Mr, Oldbury. 2 

Rawlinson, A. L. Esq.,Chipping, 
Norton .... 1 

Stubbs, E.P.Esq., Wolverhampton 1 

Smith, Mr T., Cannock. 3 

Smith, Miss, Cannock . 1 

Stubbs, The Misses, Cannock ... 4 

Sandford, Rev.H.,H.M. Inspector 
of Schools ... ... ... ... 2 

Sharwood, Rev. J. H., Walsall 1 

Smith, Mr, Walsall. 1 

Sayer, Mr Jno., Wyrley. 2 

Sayer, Mr W., Wyrley ... ... 2 

Saunders, Mr, Hednesford ... 4 


Smith, Mr. 2 

Sanford, E. A. Esq., Nynehead 

Court, Somerset . 4 

Swale, Mr, Saredon. 1 

Stainton, Miss S., Rowley ... 1 

Sier, Mr W., London . 1 

Sier, Mr H., London . 1 

Sier, Mrs, London .15 

Smith, Mr R., Shareshill. 1 

Sam, Mr B. M., Stow . 1 

Smith, Mr S,, Shipton . 1 

Sheldon, Mr, Burmington Mill 1 

Sier, Miss J., Shipton . 1 

Sayer, Mrs, Wyrley. I 

Scarth, J. Esq., Shrewsbury ... 1 

Sprott, J. Esq., Shrewsbury ... 1 

Sydenham, Mr, Shrewsbury ... 1 

Smith, Mr C., Shrewsbury ... 1 

Salter, Mr, Shrewsbury. 1 

Sier, Miss, Halesowen . 1 

Tolefree, Mr, Huntington ... 4 

Taylor, Mr, Cannock . 4 

Tomlinson, Mr Jas., Wyrley ... 2 

Thomas, Mr, Bloxwich . 4 

Thacker, Mr, Wyrley . 1 

Tyrer, J. Esq., Tixall Hall ... 1 

Taylor, Mr, Walsall. 2 

Taylor, Mr J., Rowley . 1 

Thompson, Mr, Halesowen ... 1 

Tucker, D. Esq., London ... 2 

Talbot, Mr, Spon Lane . 1 

Trinder, Miss L.A.,Bleddington 1 

Teague, Mr K., Witney. 1 

Thorp, Mr, Hemel Hempstead 1 
Tisdale, T. Esq., Shrewsbury... 1 

Townsend, 1 T.C. Esq., Shrewsbury 1 
Townsend, Mr A., Shrewsbury 1 
Townsend, Mr W., Shrewsbury 1 
Trewolla, Mr R., Halesowen ... 2 

Underhill, Mr, Dudley . 1 

Underhill, Mr G., Dudley ... 1 

Underwood, Mr E. 1 

Vickers, Mr, Cannock . 1 

Woolrych, Mr, Cannock. 5 

Withnall, Mr, Cannock . 1 

Wallhouse, Miss, London ... 2 

Wanstall, Rev. R., Norton ... 4 
Ward, The Misses, Hatherton 2 




NAMES. 


COPIES. 


NAMES. 


COPIES. 


Walker, Mr, Gailey. 

Warren, J. L. Esq., Hatkerton 
Hall •• ... ... ... ... 

Webb, Mr, Churclibridge. 

Willington, Mr, Wyrley. 

Wilkins, Mr, Hednesford. 

Walker, Mr, Cannock . 

W allbank, Mr, Cannock. 

Wright, Miss, Tettenhall 

Weller, Mr, Cannock . 

Wallbank, Mr, Hednesford ... 
Wallbank, Mr, Hednesford ... 
Wheatcroft, Jno. Esq., Cannock 
Winter, Rev. J., Wednesbury 
Wollams, Mr R., Westcourt ... 
Wilkins, Mr H. F., Chipping 

Norton . 

Wainwright, Mr, Shipton 
Witford, Miss S., Stow . 


Wright, Mr, Blackheath. 2 

Willis, Mr J , Shipton . 1 

Woodman, Mr T., Kernel Hemp¬ 
stead ... ... ... ... ... 1 

Wightman, Rev. C E. L., 

Shrewsbury . 1 

Webster, Mr, Shrewsbury ... 1 

Williamson, Mr, Shrewsbury... 1 
Wodehouse, Rev. P., Halesowen 1 
White, Mr, Halesowen . 1 

Yates, Mr, Huntington . 1 

Yates, Mr, Cannock. 2 

Young, Mr R., Brettel Lane ... 1 

Young, Mr J., Shipton ... ... 1 

Young, Mr, Waterend . 1 

Yates, J. Esq., Bridgford ... 1 

Yardley, Rev. J., Shrewsbury 1 
Yerbury, Mr, Shrewsbury ... 1 


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4 

4 

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4 

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2 

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ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


CHAPTER I. 

\ 

THE ANCIENT BEITONS. 

1. How vast is the change wrought in the character of 
a people in a few short years! How stupendous then when 
centuries intervene! Could the idolaters of Ahab’s reign 
have been the descendants of the patriarchs P Were the 
effeminate Romans who lived under the later emperors the 
real oflspring of the heroes of the age of Romulus ? Do not 
the present Persians, Egyptians, Grecians, and Romans hear 
feigned names ? Enervated by luxury, they certainly mani¬ 
fest no resemblance to their forefathers. Nebuchadnezzar, 
and Cyrus, and Pharoah, and Caesar, form a galaxy, exciting 
in our breasts a wonder that their descendants should evince 
no desire to emulate the deeds of such illustrious ancestors. 
Rut the empires they governed performed the specific objects 
for which they were exalted, and then their power and 
grandeur departed for ever. Our view, however, need not 
be so extensive. Let us but compare our own Saxon 
countrymen of the nineteenth century with their forefathers, 
the followers of Hengist ? Do we not behold the savage 
transformed into the man ? Let the followers of Voltaire 
proclaim that this almost miracle is the effect of chance, 
but we will ascribe it to the design of its true author, the 
Almighty disposer of events. Here was a character raised 
up, perhaps persecuted at the time, but destined to influence 
largely future generations. There a seed sown, on barren 

B 




9 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


earth, it may be, appointed to grow in the mould of its own 
decay, and to be the parent of a vigorous offspring. Such 
characters have formed eras by their brilliant achievements, 
and by changing the manners and customs, and marking the 
character of contemporary or succeeding generations. Thus 
there are Alfred, and Beckett, and Wickliffe, and Caxton, 
and Cranmer, and Bacon, and Newton, and Chalmers, and 
Shuttleworth, and a legion more of almost equal merit, who 
have influenced the condition of their race. By what 
means ? By their writings and their deeds. CJnder their 
tuition the people have passed from the barbarous to the 
civilized state. Britain, with its ignorant savages, has 
merged into Christian England. Like all other pristine 
states, our country stumbled on in darkness until the springs 
of education were touched with the rays of divine light, 
and she became subject to its potent influence. 

2. We cannot but regard literature and education as the 
great active instruments in changing the character of man¬ 
kind. Christianity, supplanting the absurdities of Paganism, 
and influencing the opinions of the great, becomes the main¬ 
spring that directs this intellectual machinery, 1 and it is to 
the history of education and literature in the British isles 
that we now direct our attention. 

3. History informs us of three great migrations of people 
from the east, each comprising the descendants of Japheth. 
The first of these migrations settled in the western and 
southern parts of Europe. This was the great Celtic family 
—the Celtce of Caesar. The second migration from Asia 
peopled the central and north-western portions of the 
European continent. This formed the Gfothic, or Teutonic, 
race. They occupied the evacuated territories of the Celts, 
and gradually supplanted them even in their furthest re¬ 
treats. The third, or iSclavonian, migration settled in the 
northern aud eastern parts of Europe, 2 probably en¬ 
countering such checks in following the footsteps of the 
Teutones as induced them to remain content with the sterile 


1 “At all periods, in all lands, religion has been glorified as an engine of civil¬ 
ization, sciences, letters, and arts; all the intellectual and moral pursuits have 
claimed a share in this glory; and we give them pi’aise and honour in our opinion 
when we admit that their claims are just.” — Guizot’s History of Civilization 
in Europe. 

2 See preface to Bosworth’s A. Saxon Grammar, p 5, &e. 



THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 


3 


soil and rigorous climate of the north. Europe consequently 
contains a large portion of the great family of the eldest son 
of Noah. “ God shall enlarge Japheth ”* Behold the 
prophecy fulfilled! The earliest notice of this people 1 2 is 
found in the pages of Herodotus. 3 “ The river Ister, be¬ 
ginning from the Celtae and the city of Pyrene, flows 
through the whole of Europe, for the Celtae are beyond the 
pillars of Hercules, and they border on the Cynesians, who 
are the furthest people in Europe towards the west.” 4 

We must not suppose, however, that the barbarous tribes 
who issued from Asia at once selected some favoured spot, 
thenceforth discarded their nomadic habits, and immediately 
merged into peaceable citizens. Such a notion would be as 
opposed to reason as it is to fact. The truth is they left 
their own too thickly peopled or unproductive territory, and 
being inclined by nature as by habit to a nomadic life 
wandered about from place to place until circumstances 
induced them to settle down. They were following the pur¬ 
poses of Jehovah, though undesignedly on their own parts. 
They had multiplied exceedingly—to us almost incredibly. 
They were to continue to *• be fruitful and multiply, and 
replenish the earth and subdue it.” 5 They were unwit¬ 
tingly fulfilling the divine command. They took with them 
their national occupations. Had they been previously 
shepherds, they still continued to guide their flocks to the 
most verdant pasture. Had they been accustomed to derive 
their support from the chase and the spontaneous produc 
tions of nature? Ages must elapse ere the wild sports ot 
the field should be exchanged for the peaceful occupations 
of civilized life. 

A We know nothing definitely of the true origin of the 
Celtae, and little of the steps by which they progressed from 
east to west; yet we infer from analogy, and from their 
subsequent history, that, invited forwards by undefined hopes 
of a more promising region, and receiving pressure from new 
emigrants behind, they at length reached the extremity of 


1 Genesis 9, 27. 

2 They were at first called Hyperboreans, and afterwards Celts. See “ intro¬ 
duction to the History of Great Britain and Ireland,” by Macpherson, p 19. 

3 Hist. vi. 49. 

4 As quoted by Dr. Giles in his valuable History of the Ancient Britons. 

5 Genesis i. 28. 




4 


ENGLAND EEE0RE THE CONQUEST. 


Europe on the west, and there took up their abode. A 
portion of this great family settled in Gaul and sent thence 
a colony into Britain. 

5. The periods of these different migrations from the 
east are totally unknown. They took place at an era prior 
to authentic history, and though conjecture may step in to 
supply the place of fact, as it often does in such cases, yet it 
is vain to encourage a morbid curiosity to know the par¬ 
ticulars of matters, an account of which no contemporary 
writer has vouchsafed any information ; to learn the history 
of peoples which no historian, perhaps for centuries after 
those wild tribes obtained a rude importance, has deigned to 
enquire into; respecting which no monuments of antiquity 
remain to shed the slightest glimmer of light; where, alas! 
tradition and conjecture alone remained to be depended 
upon. “ When we want to see, at any rate where no his¬ 
torical light is to be had, the mind’s eye is dimmed like that 
of the body when it is violently strained in the dark.” 1 

6. The northern portion of the original inhabitants of 
this island were Celts, differing slightly in their colloquial 
language 2 from their ancestral neighbours, the Gauls, but 
in their sacred rites, superstitions, and bravery identical. 
They belonged to the first great stream of Asiatic migration. 
The southern portion, however, are asserted by Caesar to 
have passed over from Belgium. 3 Sir Erancis Palgrave 
and others are of opinion that these were of the Teutonic 
race. 4 They were governed by a tyrannical priesthood— 
the Druids. 5 These Druids were at once the priests, 
legislators, physicians, and schoolmasters of the people. I 
should rather say. perhaps, that they were the teachers of 
their own body, for it was undoubtedly their only safe policy 
to keep the people in ignorance, lent they should imbibe 
notions calculated to cast a doubt upon the mysteries and 
generally ridiculous dogmas which they taught. Too well, 
indeed, is a mere superficial observer aware that a doubt once 
entertained upon an article of false faith often leads to a 
renunciation of that doctrine. 


1 Niebuhr's Lectures on Roman History, vol. i. p 99. 

2 Tacitus. Life of Agricola, c. 11. 

3 Lib. 5, c. 12. 

4 Bede asserts that the southern Britons came from Armorica. Lib. 1. c. 1, 

5 Caesar, book vi. 




THE AHCIEKT BEITOHS. 


5 


Full well then did the crafty Druids foresee the probable 
destruction of their vast fabric of superstition before the 
light of education, and hence did they retain a not disinclined 
people in the bonds of ignorance. True they assembled the 
young around them, and taught them, but it was orally. 1 
The two most essential elements of instruction—reading and 
writing, without which no great educational advance can be 
made—were untaught. The memory, however, was crowded 
with no insignificant notions of natural philosophy, as¬ 
tronomy, arithmetic, and botany, and if vast were the errors 
and numerous the superstitions connected with these 
branches of instruction, we wonder not. 

7. To enumerate the particulars of the amount of learn¬ 
ing they possessed; a just account of their learned men ; a 
minute description of their modes of instruction, however 
much desired, is simply impossible. The learned Dr. 
Henry 2 has entered into a full discussion of the probable 
amount of learning they possessed. The positive informa¬ 
tion to be deduced from his extensive examination of the 
subject is very small indeed. They knew something of 
astronomy—probably much. That they paid great attention 
to the revolutions of the heavenly bodies is certain, but that 
their knowledge could be accurate is more than doubtful. 
Nay, it is impossible, with the absence, or at least the 
imperfection, of astronomical instruments, and their 
superficial knowledge of those sciences so intimately con¬ 
nected with the subject of the stars, that they could have 
possessed any very accurate notions of astronomy, even as 
the science was then understood by the learned. Like the 
Jews of old they computed their time by nights instead of 
days. 3 They may have had some idea of the nature of the 
inequalities of the moon’s surface, but with regard to the 
amount of knowledge which they possessed of astronomy in 
general, or of the moon in particular, we know absolutely 
nothing; and to discuss probabilities would be of very little 
use. We may speak similarly of their arithmetic and 
geometry ; for although Caesar says that they gave instruc¬ 
tion to their youths “ concerning the magnitude of the world 


1 Caesar lib. 6, c. 12 and 13. 

2 History of England, vol. ii, lib. 1, c. 4. 

3 Caesar lib. 6, c. 17. 



6 ENGLAND DEEORE THE CONQUEST. 

and earth,” we have no means of ascertaining what their 
notions were with regard to this subject, or by what process 
they arrived at their conclusion. Their geographical know¬ 
ledge would probably be of the most meagre character. For 
although they certainly were in constant communication 
with the Gauls—although the southern portion of the island 
was probably peopled from Germany—although the Cartha¬ 
ginians had visited their shores, and bartered with the 
inhabitants, yet from none of these sources could they be 
expected to have derived any great amount of information ; 
for at this period they had no native travellers who could 
furnish them with an account of distant countries; they 
had no fleets to navigate the ocean ; no sailors who could 
furnish them with a report of its peculiarities or the shores 
of other lands. They were an isolated people, and their 
geographical knowledge must have consequently been of a 
limited nature. 

8. Of their knowledge of mechanics and the industrial 
arts, we have happily more precise information. That they 
were well versed in those arts which contributed to success 
in warfare we have abundant means of ascertaining. Caesar 
speaks of their fortifications in terms which lead us to 
believe that they were by no means despicable. Their war 
chariots inform us that they must have been well acquainted 
with an important branch of mechanical arts, and this 
knowledge could only have been obtained after a long course 
of study and application. Their wicker work was celebrated, 
their works of clay admired, and the present remains of 
those stupendous places erected for the celebration of their 
religious rites excite our wonder, and lead us to enquire 
whether a people who could transport huge blocks of stone 
to enormous heights, and could place them in the most 
delicate positions, had not attained a degree of intellectual 
development far surpassing what has been ordinarly ascribed 
to them. I need only allude to the rocking stones in Corn¬ 
wall, and the ruins at Stonehenge, in confirmation of such 
views. 1 

9. We are told by Diodorus Siculus, 2 a contemporary 


1 Henry’s History of England, vol ii, c. 4. 

2 Hist. lib. 5. 



THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 


7 


of Caesar, that the Druids’ counsel was sought by their 
enemies, and that their power was sufficiently great, and not 
unfrequently exerted to restrain the rage* of contending 
armies, and stem the torrent of savage bloodshed: and this 
was accomplished by their eloquence. Men who were con¬ 
tinually instructing the pupils crowded around them orally 
—men who were frequently accustomed to harangue an 
army before engaging in battle—address popular assemblies 
—expound laws and inculcate religious observances—may 
well have acquired the true qualities of orators. Their com¬ 
manding eloquence swayed the minds of their rude hearers. 
The British speeches recorded in the pages of Tacitus, 
though doubtless embellished with the imagery of that 
eloquent writer, give us a fair view of the estimation in 
which their powers of speech were held. Thus may we 
perceive, even in those early ages, the power of intellectual 
superiority. Men who could successfully separate opposing 
armies of inflamed and barbarous warriors, enjoyed no mean 
power—commanded no inconsiderable respect; and this 
power, and this respect, were entirely obtained through 
their intellectual qualifications : these furnished them with 
the means of enchaining the minds of a barbarous people. 

10. They transmitted orally, as was before observed, to 
the youth of the higher classes the knowledge which they 
had accumulated. Such knowledge was consequently 
possessed but by few. Caesar informs us 1 that the estima¬ 
tion in wffiich their learning was held attracted to their 
lessons numerous scholars from distant parts, who were 
either sent by their parents or became voluntary pupils. 
Though abstaining from communicating a knowledge of 
letters to their assembled scholars, they were not themselves 
ignorant of the art of writing. From Caesar also we learn 
that their pupils sometimes remained under their instruction 
for a period of twenty years. 2 Caesar distinctly says that 
although they do not consider it to be lawful to commit 
those things relating to religion and learning to writing, 
“yet in other public and private accounts they commonly 
use written characters.” 3 It is probable, indeed, that they 


1 Lib. 6, c. 13. 

2 Csesar, lib. 6, c. 14. 

3 In spms editions of Csesar we have “ Grseeis utantur literis,”. Caesar, lib. 6, c. 14. 



8 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


were acquainted with the use of the Greek characters,, 
though they were doubtless ignorant of the Greek language. 
Pliny asserts that their knowledge of magic was not less 
than that of the magi of Persia. “ By their abstaining from 
a hen, a hare, and a goose, from fish also,” saith Dion, “ and 
their opinion of the soul’s passing after death into other 
bodies, they may be thought to have studied Pythagoras.” 1 
Strabo informs us that their information in this respect was 
derived from the colony of Massilia (Marseilles) in the 
south of Gaul. 2 The motives which induced the Druids to 
prohibit a general system of writing are stated by Caesar to 
have been, first, that their discipline should not be published 
to the vulgar, and, secondly, that they should not neglect to 
cultivate the memory. For the purpose of improving this 
faculty they were required to learn a large number of 
verses. 3 

But how, it may be enquired, did the Druids obtain their 
general knowledge? Were they the sole originators of 
their own system of Druidism, or did they acquire the 
knowledge of it from others ? Partly from both sources, I 
imagine. No other race of men that we read of ever had 
an exact counterpart of their system. It was purely Celtic, 
—it was common to the whole Celtic race. It was acquired 
by degrees—it grew with their growthnurtured by those 
who were interested in its prosperity, and improved by those 
who were bent upon perfecting it. 5Tet it doubtless received 
extraneous aid. As Dr. Henry hints, 4 it might have re¬ 
ceived embellishments from the Greek colony of Marseilles, 
and the philosophy of Pythagoras. If they were astrono¬ 
mers, the rudiments of that art were doubtless at first com¬ 
municated. If they understood the art of caligraphy, they 
were not its inventors. Constant study increased their 
store of facts—their method was their own. 

11. But where were their seminaries situated, and what 
was their character ? They were doubtless in connection 
with their temples, and as these latter were placed in the 
deepest recesses of the woods, their schools, it may well be 


1 Milton’s History of Great Britain, p. 41. 

2 Lib. 4. 

3 Csesar, lib. 6, 14. 

4 History of Britain, vol. ii, p. 7. 



THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 


9 


conceived, were there also. Were we permitted to trespass 
lor a moment upon the imagination, we might easily picture 
to ourselves a large body of attentive pupils seated on the 
greensward, with the vaulted arch of heaven as their only 
canopy; or, perhaps, the shady branches of some gigantic 
oak interposing to protect them from the piercing rays of a 
summer’s sun. There might we see the venerable Druid 
standing, with his silvery locks waving in the breeze, whilst, 
w T ith a kindled eye, animated countenance, and persuasive 
tongue, some principle is developed, some precept enforced, 
some threat denounced, or some thrilling incident recited. 
What a picture might we draw—what a lesson might we 
enforce—were we permitted to pursue the subject! 

12. If we could draw an exciting imaginative picture 
respecting the educational processes of the ancient Britons, 
—which might, perhaps, be substantially true, were it 
grounded upon the data we possess in relation to the 
Britons, upon the information at our command relative to 
other tribes of a scarcely more recent period, and of 
mankind in general—we could also favor the lovers of 
romance with some extraordinary biographies of fabulous 
British writers at this early period. The following, taken 
from Dr. Henry, on the authority of Bale, is a specimen. 
Perdix, the subject of the memoir, lived in Britain, about 
the year B. C. 760. 

“ Perdix, or Partridge, a British prophet, who excelling in 
genius and learning, particularly in mathematics, by his 
example roused the indolent minds of others to the pursuit 
of the same studies. By his curious and constant observa¬ 
tion of the stars, he became a famous prophet and prognosti¬ 
cator. In his time, about the year of the world 3198, it 
rained blood in Britain three whole days, which produced 
such prodigious swarms of flies that they occasioned a great 
mortality. As king Bivallo was offering sacrifices in^, the 
temple of Diana, according to the manner of these times, 
Partridge came in, and not onty explained the causes of the 
present calamities, but also pronounced a prophecy of many 
future events. The king commanded this prophecy to be 
engraved on large blocks of marble, and placed in the same 
temple for its preservation. Gildas, a most noble poet and 
historiographer among the Britons, found this inscription 


10 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


written in very old language, and translated it into elegant 
Latin verse.” 

Such is the character of the history of the writers of this 
early period. 

13. Such was the intellectual state of Britain when first 
introduced to our notice by the pen of Caesar. Yet even 
the moderate attainments alluded to cannot be ascribed to 
the whole population of the island. In the northern district 
the natives roamed about almost in a state of nudity. In the 
midland part they had so far cast off their barbarous nature 
as to be almost worthy of being denominated shepherds. 
In the southern portion alone, probably in consequence of 
its proximity to Gaul and its connection with continental 
merchants, was any species of learning to be found ; whilst 
the amount of oral instruction that was imparted in the 
most favoured spots was mingled with the most degrading 
superstitions. 

14. The rudest habitations of the Britons were circular 
huts, constructed of wood and covered with straw. A hole 
at the top subserved the twofold purpose of admitting light, 
and forming an egress for the escape of smoke. These 
dwellings however may be regarded as their summer tents ; 
for in the winter they appear to have retired to caves, 
rendered by nature and art warmer than their fragile houses. 
Remains of some of these dwellings still exist in the western 
isles of Scotland and in Cornwall. 1 2 In process of time 
their rude huts were improved by plasterings of mud, whilst 
in the more civilised parts t of the island houses constructed 
of wood and stone, and covered with straw, were not un¬ 
common. An assemblage of these huts was called a town. 
Thus writes Caesar: “ The Britons call that a town where 
they have been accustomed to assemble to avoid an incur¬ 
sion of enemies, when they have fortified the entangled 
woods with a rampart and ditch.” 3 Strabo says, “that the 
forests of the Britons were their cities, and that when they 
had enclosed a very large space with felled streets, they 
built within it houses for themselves and sheds for their 
cattle.” 4 


1 History of England, vol. ii, p. 68. 

2 Henry’s History of Great Britain, vol. ii, p. 113. 

3 Lib. 5, c. 21. 

4 Lib. 4, p. 200. 



THE ANCIENT BUTTONS. 


11 


15. Woods, forests, and marshes covered the greater 
portion of the country at that period, over which the Britons 
roamed in a half naked state. Painted bodies and a 
loose covering of skins must indeed have given them a most 
savage appearance. Without any settled avocations, they 
were now engaged in vindictive warfare with neighbouring 
tribes. Bows and arrows, spears and clubs, and above all, 
chariots, with swords in their wheels, formed their chief 
instruments for military purposes, Now they were engaged 
in the hunting of the wild boar, or wolf, then abundant in 
the island ; and occasionally may they have been seen en¬ 
gaged in the more peaceful occupations of cultivating the 
soil, or in the manufacture of simple articles for domestic 
use, warlike purposes, and religious rites. Asa nation they 
were sunk low in the scale of humanity, yet their subsequent 
elevation under the influence of civilization, and the hallow¬ 
ing restraints of Christianity, displayed the spark of ration¬ 
ality within them—depressed, but not quenched; revealed 
the soul, the likeness of Divinity, man’s distinguishing and 
most noble part. 


12 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


CHAPTER II. 

GENERAL HISTORY OF BRITAIN UNDER THE ROMANS. 

1. How long the Britons had been in the island upon 
the arrival of Ceesar, or how many different expeditions 
successively arrived here, we have no means of ascertaining. 
We know that they had been in alliance with their kinsmen, 
the Gfaiils, before the time of Caesar’s invasion: that they 
had fought side by side with them against the legions of 
Caesar, and that they were at length to feel the effects of the 
conqueror’s ambition themselves. Caesar, the great Roman 
general, having subdued a great portion of Gaul, and 
aspiring to supreme power in Rome, though circumstances 
were hardly ripe for the execution of his project, meditated 
a descent upon this island. Many reasons induced him to 
take this step. That which he himself assigns for his enter¬ 
prise is probably a very different one to the true motive 
which influeuced him. He asserts that he was led to come 
over having learnt that the Gauls had been assisted by the 
Britons when he was engaged in hostile attacks upon that 
people. 1 But we must bear in mind that he had a powerful 
army under his command, the authority over which he w r as 
unwilling to relinquish, as it must inevitably have interfered 
with his contemplated schemes of ambition. Fresh glory 
was to be acquired by the conquest of a new country. The 
subjugation of a hostile people would be gratifying to his 
feelings : his curiosity would be satisfied, and his hopes of 
enriching himself by the seizure of British pearls realized. 2 
To attain his object he sailed for the island in the year b. c. 
55, to the confusion of the Britons, who had endeavoured 
to prevent the execution of his plans by sending ambassa¬ 
dors to Gaul as soon as his intentions became suspected. 3 

1 Caesar, lib. 4, c. 20. 

2 Henry, vol. i, p. 3. 

3 Ibid. 





BRITAIN UNDER THE ROMANS. 


13 


2. Previously to his sailing, however, he assembled 
Gaulish merchants with the view of ascertaining the char¬ 
acter of the country, and its people, which he proposed 
visiting ; but having been unable to glean from them the 
desired information, he sent Caius Yolusenus over on an 
exploring expedition. Meanwhile he collected ships from 
every quarter, that he might be in a position to transport 
his forces upon the return of his spy. The ambassadors 
sent to Caesar were graciously received by him. He 
promised liberally, and sent back with them Uomius, an 
Atrebatian, in his interest, who was to endeavour to inspire 
the Britons with favourable sentiments towards himself and 
the Homans. At length, having completed his arrangements, 
he set sail himself. He did not effect a landing here, 
however, without considerable opposition, for the Britons 
having been foiled in their attempt to ward off his expedi¬ 
tion, threw Comius into prison and made the most deter¬ 
mined resistance. Undisciplined valour, however, was no 
equal match for the military skill of Caesar’s veterans, who, 
once landed, induced the Britons to liberate Comius and 
sue for peace. This was granted them by Caesar, who, how¬ 
ever, upbraided them with their unjust treatment of Comius, 
and hostages were demanded. The wily Biitons now only 
w r atched for an opportunity to be revenged upon Caesar, 
which was not indeed long in presenting itself. The vessels 
which should have brought over the Homan cavalry were 
overtaken by a violent tempest, and most of them compelled 
to return to the continent. The ships that were with Caesar 
were severely shattered, and a cloud speedily overcast the 
countenances of his soldiers. The Britons were not slow in 
discovering his disasters. The chiefs gradually withdrew 
from his camp, and waited for an opportunity to take ad¬ 
vantage of his misfortune. At length perceiving his seventh 
legion foraging, they attacked it, and would probably have 
annihilated it, had not his timely arrival prevented so terrible 
a calamity. He had learned from those guarding the camp 
that there was an unusual dust in the direction taken by the 
legion, suspected the cause, and afforded efficient assistance. 
The legion was extricated from its difficulty, but not with 
out suffering severely. The intrepid Britons now prepared 
to attack the camp itself, but were anticipated and again 


14 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


defeated. After this battle Caesar took an early opportunity 
to return to the continent. 1 

3. Thus was Caesar’s first stay in the island brief. He 
met with unexpected opposition, and he returned to Gaul to 
winter his forces there, and determined to obtain large re¬ 
inforcements for a second invasion. This invasion took 
place in the following year, and though the Britons, under 
the leadership of Cassivelaunus, displayed their accustomed 
bravery, and no small amount of ingenuity, yet they were 
worsted in many engagements, and were in a few months 
compelled to yield to Caesar the hostages he demanded, 
together with the promise of a yearly tribute. The circum¬ 
stances of this invasion may be thus briefly enumerated. In 
the year b. c. 54, Caesar, having collected several hundred 
vessels, and a large number of soldiers, sailed for Britain. 
Binding no enemy on the coast to oppose his landing, as 
upon his first visit here, he marched into the interior of the 
country, directing his footsteps towards that part of the 
island whither he had been informed the Britons had retired. 
Having at length discovered the forces of the enemy, he 
prepared to give them battle. The Britons gave way and 
retreated to the woods, where they had a strongly fortified 
camp. Their citadel was speedily stormed by the soldiers of 
the seventh legion, and arrangements made for the pursuit 
of the fugitives. The orders for this expedition, however, 
were soon countermanded, for intelligence reached Caesar 
that a storm had again shattered his fleet. This induced 
his immediate return to his vessels. He soon, however, 
repaired his ships, drew r them on shore, and again ventured 
in pursuit of the enemy. The Britons had by this time 
collected very large forces to oppose him, which were placed 
under the command of Cassivelaunus. These were exceed¬ 
ingly harassing to Caesar, though they proved no insur¬ 
mountable obstacle to his success. He defeated them, 
indeed, in every serious encounter. At length defection 
appeared in their ranks. Several tribes went over to Caesar. 
Cassivelaunus did indeed all that prudence could suggest or 
valour accomplish. Disunion and ignorance, however, op¬ 
posed to unity and skill, convinced him that further opposi- 


1 Caesar, lib. 4, c. 20-37. 










BRITAIN UNDER THE ROMANS. 


15 


tion was useless and induced him to desire peace. This 
Caesar was only too ready to grant, being anxious to return 
to his continental affairs. Having then demanded hostages, 
the whole of which he could never expect to receive, and 
levying a tribute which he could not hope to see collected, 
he returned to receive the congratulations of his friends and 
to excite the admiration even of his enemies. 1 He never 
visited this island again, and the Britons were unmolested 
by the Homans for nearly a century. 

4. Little is known of the history of the Britons during 
this period. They were probably engaged in civil warfare, 
the defeated party frequently hastening for protection and 
patronage to Borne. Boman emperors frequently threatened 
to invade Britain, with the view of exacting the promised 
tribute from the Britons, who were indeed often too glad 
to purchase their forbearance by agreeing to their demands. 
At length, in the year a.d. 43, the Bomans and Britons were 
again contending with each other, for in that year Plautius 
w r as sent by the emperor Claudius, with forces from Gfaul, 
to subdue the inhabitants of this island. 

5. Aulus Plautius was a general of approved wisdom and 
valour, who, after some little difficulty, landed in Britain 
with 50,000 men. No native Britons, armed with clubs 
and supported by war chariots, opposed the landing of 
Plautius, as they had previously done that of Caesar; yet 
they were doubtless as well informed of the intended ex¬ 
pedition as their forefathers had been of Caesar’s. How was 
this P Hid not the remembrance of the empty threats of 
Augustus and Tiberius, and the mock triumph of Caligula, 
induce the unwary Britons to believe that the expedition of 
Claudius would never leave the Gaulish shore P Possibly 
this was the case: certain it is that they were unprepared 
to meet Plautius, who marched into the interior of the 
country, and defeated them in numerous engagements. The 
emperor Claudius himself at length appeared on the island— 
pursued the war with equal energy and success, as his lieu¬ 
tenant had done during the short period he remained here, 
returning in triumph to Borne in less than six months after 
he had left it. Plautius was appointed governor of the 


1 Caesar, lib. 5, c. 8, 12, 15, 23. 




16 


ENGLAND BEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 


island, (the district south of the Thames now being in the 
Roman possession), assisted by the celebrated Vespasian. 
After a short but successful administration, he was recalled 
in the year a.d. 47, and Ostorius Scapula appointed as his 

„ successor. 

Ostorius Scapula found the affairs of Britain in the utmost 
disorder upon his arrival. Winter had set in, and the 
restless Britons little dreamt that the new Roman general 
would molest them at this season of the year. In this, 
however, they were mistaken. Ostorius lost no time in 
pursuing those patriots who had united in common defence 
of their fatherland, and, in order to cripple them as much as 
possible, determined to deprive the suspected of arms. One 
tribe, the Iceni, 1 2 3 for a time thwarted his designs, for, collect¬ 
ing neighbouring forces, they determined to give battle to 
him. As might have been expected, victory declared in 
favour of the Romans. Ostorius then marched against some 
Cangians, 3 devastating their territories ; thence returning 
against the Brigantes, 4 silenced them, and prepared to visit 
the Silures, 5 who had been his most resolute opponents. 
The celebrated Caractacus headed the Silures. He unwisely 
determined to hazard a battle with the enemy, forgetting 
that the true policy of his warfare was to avoid a general 
engagement—to have been content to harass the enemy in 
their line of march through the country, and to have taken 
advantage of any rash step made by them. Caractacus 
selected a most advantageous position for the concentration 
of his forces, viz., an elevated spot of ground in Shropshire, 
in front of a river. Its banks, and the sides of the hill, 
were well fortified. He and his chieftains did all that barba¬ 
rian valour and policy would dictate. He animated his men by 
reminding them that that day was to secure their permanent 
freedom or involve them in interminable bondage, referring 
them to the deeds of their ancestors who had repulsed the 
great Cscsar, secured to themselves freedom from “ Roman 
axes” and “Roman tribute,” and preserved their wives and 
children from contamination. But it was in vain. We are 

I 

1 Tacitus, Life of Agricola, c. 13. Henry’s Hist. Eng., book i, c. 1. 

2 Inhabitants of Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and Huntingdon. 

3 Supposed to have been the shepherds of the different tribes, 

4 Inhabitants of Yorkshire and Lancashire, 

5 A people of South Wales. 



* 

BEIT AIN XTNDEE THE EOMANS. 17 

told that “their display of courage and alacrity amazed the 
Boman general: besides, the river to be passed, the rampart 
they had raised, the frowning ridges of the mountains, every 
part exhibiting symptoms of fierce determination, and every 
post well manned,—all these things alarmed him.” 1 But 
neither the natural difficulties of the mountain, the fortifica¬ 
tions of the Britons, nor the courage with which they fought, 
could secure them from defeat. The fortifications were 
destroyed, and the Britons compelled to seek refuge in 
flight. Caractacus himself did not long escape. He claimed 
the protection of his step-mother, the queen of the Brigantes, 
who treacherously delivered him up to the Homans. 2 

6. The noble character of Caractacus was as ably sus¬ 
tained by him in captivity as it bad been whilst contending 
with the legions of Borne for the independence of his 
country. His fame had reached the ears of the luxurious 
inhabitants of the capitol, and their curiosity to behold him 
had been so highly excited, that the approaching scene of 
his degradation and the Bo man general’s triumph was anti¬ 
cipated with marked anxiety. And scarcely ever did the 
streets of Borne present a more animated aspect than upon 
this occasion. “ First the servants and followers of the 
British king moved in procession ; and the trappings and 
collars, and all that he had taken in wars w r i.th his neigh¬ 
bours, were borne along ; next cmne his brothers, his wife, 
and daughter ; and last himself, attracting the gaze of all.” 3 
"With trembling footsteps did the attendant Britons move 
mechanically through the noble city. Caractacus alone stood 
firm. ‘* How,” thought he, “ could a people possessed of so 
much magnificence at home envy me a humble cottage in 
Britain?” He was a stranger to the ambitious policy of 
Borne; but he quailed not before the emperor’s glance, nor 
stood daunted before the assembled multitudes. And his 
intrepidity of character secured his freedom. Before the 
imperial tribunal he is thus said to have delivered himsell: 
“ If my moderation in prosperity had been as great as my 
lineage was noble and my successes brilliant, I should have 
entered this city as a friend, rather than as a captive; nor 


1 Tacitus, vol. i, p. 291. 

Z Tacitus, Annals, lib. 12, c. 31 -36. 

3 Tacitus, Annals, lib. 12, c. 36. 


0 



18 


ENGLAND BEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


would you then have disdained to receive a prince descended 
from illustrious ancestors, and the ruler of many nations, 
into terms of alliance. My present lot, as it is to me igno¬ 
minious and degrading, so is it a matter of glory and 
triumph to you. I had men and arms, horses and riches: 
where is the wonder if I was unwilling to part with them ? 
If you, Romans, aim at extending your dominion over all 
mankind, it does not follow that all men should take the 
yoke upon them. Had I at once been delivered into your 
hands a prisoner at discretion, neither had my fall nor your 
glory been thus signal. If you inflict punishment upon me, 
the affair will sink into oblivion; but if you preserve my 
life I shall form an imperishable record of yonr clemency.” 1 

7. The honour gained by Ostorius, through the capture 
of Caractacus, was not of a permanent character. The 
Britons, fired with rage at the loss of their chief, and 
dreading the encroachments of the Romans, made a most 
determined stand, and victory thus not unfrequentlv followed 
their standards. Ostorius suffered much from their steady 
determination, and at length, worn out with cares, expired, 
to their great exultation. 2 

8. Aulus Didius succeeded Ostorius. One of the Roman 
legions had been defeated ere Didius reached the island. 
The disasters attending this defeat were magnified by Didius, 
evidently that he might increase the amount of credit due to 
himself if he subdued the rebellion, and which might prove 
au excuse for him should he be unfortunate in his military 
engagements. He appears, however, to have prosecuted the 
war with vigour, and to have subdued the Silures, his most 
bitter opponents. 3 He was succeeded by Veranius, of 
whom little can be said, save that he made some incursions 
into the territories of the Silures 4 

9. Yeranius was succeeded by Suetonius. He was 
one of those daring Romans that intensified the terror of 
the Roman arms. Not satisfied with the comm on-place 
manoeuvres of ordinary generalship, he desired to strike 


1 Tacitus, Annals, lib. 12, c. 37. (I have used throughout this work Bohn’s 
edition of the classics and old chronicles.) 

2 Tacitus. The Roman dominion in Britain was extended under Ostorius to the 
Severn and Trent. 

3 Ibid. 

4 Tacitus, Annals, lib. 14, c. 29. 




BRITAIN UNDER THE ROMANS. 


19 


some terrible blow which might rival the glories of Scipio or 
Cmsar. The Isle of Anglesea was at this period the home 
of the Druids—the focus of each rebellion. Thither lie 
directed the march of the legions. Elat-bottomed boats 
were constructed by him to cross the straits which separate 
the island from the mainland, and every other suitable pre¬ 
paration was made to destroy the stronghold of the Britons. 
And it required all the determination of such a general for 
such an undertaking. Desperation had seized the minds of 
the Druids. Death or victory was the only alternative they 
propodld to themselves. The glowing account of their con¬ 
duct as related by Tacitus cannot be omitted. “ On the 
shore stood the forces of the enemy, a dense array of arms 
and men, with women dashing through the ranks like furies ; 
their dress funereal, their hair dishevelled, and carrying 
torches in their hands. The Druids, around the host, pour¬ 
ing forth dire imprecations, with their hands uplifted towards 
the heavens, struck terror into the soldiers by the strange¬ 
ness of the sight; insomuch that, as if their limbs were 
paralysed, they exposed their bodies to the weapons of the 
enemy without an effort to move.” 1 They were attacked 
and defeated, their fortifications demolished, and their bodies 
consumed in the fires they had prepared for their enemies. 

10. Whilst Suetonius was exulting in the success of his 
arms in this direction, news arrived of the revolt of the Iceni 
in his rear. Their queen, Boadicea, had been cruelly treated 
by the Komans, her daughters ravished, and the whoL of 
her possessions seized, although her late husband had be¬ 
queathed one half to the Komans to secure their protection. 
Joined to the Iceni were the Trinobantes, 2 and other tribes 
who were determined to wreak their vengeance upon the 
Komans for their brutal conduct. And for a certain period 
success attended their arms. London and Yerulam fell into 
their hands, and seventy thousands of the Komans and their 
allies were slain. Their successes, however, were but of 
transient duration. Suetonius pushed forward with the 
utmost vigour, and was at length in a condition to oppose 
them. The temerity of Boadicea in engaging the disciplined 
Koman army, numbering ten thousand men, met with the 


1 Tacitus, Annals, lib. 14. c 30. 

2 Inhabitants of Essex and Middlesex. 





20 


ENGLAND EEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 


ill success which might have been expected. Eighty thou¬ 
sands of the Britons are said to have been slain, as no quarter 
appears to have been given. 1 The battle ended, and fresh 
forces having arrived from Germany, Suetonius prepared to 
follow up his victory. Eire and sword now devastated the 
homes of the Britons, and famine succeeding, they were in 
the most deplorable condition. A misunderstanding, how¬ 
ever, having arisen between Suetonius and the Roman pro¬ 
curator, the former was at length recalled, and w'as succeeded 
by a series of governors whose names it will be sufficient 
merely to mention. 

11. Petronius Turpilianus follow T ed Suetonius, and then 
came in succession Trebellius Maximus, Vettius Bolanus, 
Petilius Cerealis, and Julius Frontinus. All these generals 
exerted their influence to subjugate the Britons, but in vain. 
Fierce contentions, and enduring struggles for supremacy, 
incessantly raged between the native Britons and their inva¬ 
ders during the whole of the period referred to above, and 
often did the result appear doubtful. The Iceni, the Bri- 
gantes, the Silures, were continually arising like reanimated 
dead bones. Filled with patriotic ardour, impelled by inhe¬ 
rent valour, impatient of subjection, and the mortal enemies 
of their invaders, the Britons fought with undiminished 
vigour. Often did the disciplined veterans of the Roman 
army quail before the fierce onsets of the hardy Britons, and 
though military skill, indomitable perseverance, enduring 
bravery, and perfect discipline, w r ere employed in subduing 
them, it is doubtful whether their complete subjugation 
would ever have been accomplished had not a more powerful 
force than mere coercion been brought against them. It 
required the soothing hand of friendship, not less than the 
strong arm of power, to overcome this high-spirited people. 

12. Agrieola 2 at length came, proffering himself the 


1 Tacitus. 

2 Cneius Julius Agricola was tlie son of Julius Gra?cinus, a Eoman senator, and a 
celebrated writer on agriculture. He was boru at Eorumjulii (Frejus) in the year 
a 0 . 40. He was carefully educated by bis mother, Julia Fro cilia, during his child¬ 
hood, and was afterwards sent to Massilia (Marseilles) the principal seat of learning 
at Gaul, celebrated alike “ for Grecian politeness” and provincial frugality. Having 
been at length appointed to a command in Britain, under Suetonius, he here learnt 
the rudiments of war. Upon his return to Borne, a.d. 62, he became officially en¬ 
gaged there, and soon afterwards married a lady of noble family. He at length 
became qucestor, under the pro-consulship of Salvius Titanus, in which office he dis¬ 
played a most trustworthy character. Daring the latter part of Nero’s reign he was- 




RRITAIN UNDER THE ROMANS. 


21 


friend of this warlike people. Uplifting the sword with one 
hand he extended the olive branch with the other, and 
speedily announced to the Britons that whilst prepared to do 
battle with them he was the friend of peace. He arrived in 
England a.d. 78. That season of the year which the Roman 
armies were accustomed to employ in important expeditions 
had passed away when he assumed the command, and it was 
now the middle of summer. The troops were scattered 
throughout the country, prepared to settle down quietly in 
their winter quarters. The Britons had been active as usual. 
A tribe of them, the Ordovices, 1 had recently destroved 
some Roman cavalry stationed near their territories. 
i\gricola assembled what troops were at hand, called in the 
detachments from the legions, and with these, and. a small 
body of auxiliaries, marched against those Britons and 
almost annihilated their tribe. He now turned his attention 
to the occupancy of Anglesea, which the untoward rebellion 
of Boadicea and the subsequent recall of Suetonius, had 
prevented that general from accomplishing. Although he 
had prepared no flat-bottomed boats to transport his soldiers 
across the straits as Suetonius had previously done, his 
daring intrepidity would not allow him to forego the oppor¬ 
tunity of attempting the subjugation of the island. A select 


tribune and praetor, and was at length, as a reward for supporting Vespasian, en¬ 
trusted with the command of the 20th legion, under Petilius Cerealis. Repairing to 
Britain, he there distinguished himself by consummate prudence no less than by 
distinguished courage ; and upon his return to Rome was invested by Vespasian 
with the government @f Aquitania. In a.d. 77 he was appointed consul, and upon 
the expiration of his consulship was entrusted with the government of Britain. He 
was recalled by the jealous Domitian, after spending six or seven summers in the 
island, for “ doing,” as Milton expresses it, “ too much of what he was sent to do,” 
(Hist. Brit. p. 64) and entered the city of Rome by night at the command of the 
tyrant emperor. He now retired into private life, and died in the year a.d. 93, not 
however, without a suspicion of having been poisoned. (Tacitus, Annals : Eng, 
Cyclope.) The exemplary conduct of the Roman mothers with regard to their 
children, as portrayed by Tacitus, (Dialogue concerning oratory, c. 28) deserves the 
serious study of mothers of the present day. “ The infant as soon as born was not 
consigned to the mean dwelling of a hireling nurse, but was reared and cherished in 
the bosom of its mother, whose highest praise it was to take care of her household 
affairs and attend to her children. It was customary likewise for each family to choose 
some elderly female relation of approved conduct to whose charge the children were 
committed; in her presence not one indecent word was uttered, nothing was done 
against propriety and good manners. The hours of study and serious employments 
were settled by her directions, and not only so, but even the diversions of the children 
were conducted with modest reserve and sanctity of manners. Thus, it was stated 
that Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, superintended the education of her illus¬ 
trious issue : it was thus that Aurelia trained up Ju.ius Caesar, and thus Alia formed 
the mind of Augustus.” 

I Inhabitants of North Wales. 



22 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


body of his auxiliaries, probably Batavians, were ordered to 
cross the channel with their horses and arms, which so dis¬ 
concerted the inhabitants that they yielded without a 
struggle. 

13. Thus ended his first campaign. These undertakings 
accomplished, Agricola employed the winter months in 
ameliorating the condition of the Britons. He began by the 
reformation of his own household. Merit became the only 
passport to advancement. Personal knowledge of the cir¬ 
cumstances surrounding him was his desire. Punishments 
were wisely administered, and pardons judiciously granted. 
He did not remit taxation, but he made it just and equal. 1 
By these and similar measures he endeared himself to the 
Britons, who acknowledged his supremacy ; whilst he struck 
terror into the counsels of those who were opposed to him 
by his incessant activity and daring intrepidity. His first 
campaign, and his first wintering in Britain, were true pro¬ 
totypes of the six succeeding ones. Active operations were 
commenced by him each season as soon as the weather per¬ 
mitted, and his campaigns extended the Boman influence to 
the northern extremity of the island. His fleets determined 
the geographical fact that Great Britain was an island, and 
that the Orkneys were situated at the north of it. By his 
bravery and skill be defeated Galgacus on the Grampian 
hills. His prudence led to the erection of a chain of torts 
from the Frith of Clyde to the Frith of Forth, to keep in 
check the northern inhabitants of the island. By his wise 
regulations he taught the Britons the arts of civilized life, 
and caused their chief families to be instructed in the Homan 
language and literature. His generosity is perceptible in 
his rendering to all their more than due, and not arrogating to 
himself the merit of victories which often justly belonged to 
him. Although his character is drawn by his son-in-law, 
yet that son-in-law is the great, the eloquent Tacitus, who, 
however, never wilfully sacrificed truth to eloquence—who 
can never be accused of depicting the merits of a Boman 
citizen to the detraction of the character of a British barba¬ 
rian, but, on the contrary, seems to have delighted in putting 


1 Tacitus, Life of Agricola, c. 18,19. 



BRITAIN UNDER THE ROMANS. 


23 


into British mouths the sentiments of true bravery and 
praiseworthy independence. 

14. Agricola was recalled a.d. 85, by the jealous Domi- 
tian, and we have now to pass over a period of nearly fortv 
years ere we arrive at any information worth remembering 
in the history of Britain. In the year 121, however, the 
emperor Hadrian arrived here, corrected many abuses, and 
erected a rampart of earth from the river Tyne to Solwav 
Birth, to restrain the incursions of his Caledonian enemies. 
In the year 138, Lollius Urbicus was governor of Britain. 
He raised a rampart of earth on the site of Agricola’s chain 
of forts. In the year 207 we find the emperor Severus in 
Britain. Having struck terror into the Caledonians, and sub¬ 
sequently made peace with them, he employed himself in 
constructing a strong wall in the same direction as Hadrian’s 
rampart of earth. The old emperor, after this undertaking, 
was taken ill and expired at York. In the year 284 we find 
Carausius assuming the purple, and, being supported by the 
Britons, the emperor Maximianus deemed it advisable to 
consent to his usurpation, inasmuch as he was unable to 
contend with him, and granted to him in consequence the 
government of Britain. Carausius was murdered in the 
year 293, in the prospect of an invasion of Constantius 
Caesar, and Alectus, his chief officer, succeeding him, w r as 
defeated and slain by Asclepiodotus, an officer of Constan¬ 
tius, a.d. 296. Constantius at length became one of the 
emperors, and Britain fell under his share of government. 
He subdued the Caledonians, but we have no particulars 
ot his actions. Constantine the Great, son of Constantius, 
was in Britain warring against the Msetaa and Caledonians, 
when his father died, and he was immediately de¬ 
clared emperor. Having finished the war with the Caledo¬ 
nians, he departed with many of the Britons who voluntarily 
followed his standard. Constans, son and successor of 
Constantine, visited Britain to chastise the Caledonians (now 
called the Piets and Scots); but we know nothing certain 
of the progress he made here. In the year 360, Lupicinus 
was sent here by Julian the Apostate to repel the Piets and 
Scots, who had made incursions into the British territories. 
He proceeded no farther than London, settled some affairs, 
and again left the island. After several attempts to subdue 


24 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


the Piets and Scots, who were continually invading and 
plundering the country, the emperor Valentinian sent over 
the celebrated Theodosius, who, acting with great vigour, 
speedily checked the northern invaders, who had penetrated 
as far as London. He drove them back beyond the wall of 
Lollius TJrbicus, restored order, improved the condition of 
the people, and did all that a wise and prudent general and 
a politic governor could do for their benefit. Recalled to 
undertake the duties of a higher office, he left with the tears- 
and regret of all. 

15. The vigour of the government of Theodosius had a 
most salutary effect upon the minds of the Piets and Scots, 
evincing what might be done in the most dire extremities by 
the energy of a master mind. Britain enjoyed tranquillity 
for some time after the period of his departure. At length, 
in the year 381, Maximus, an officer of great reputation, 
having been slighted as he conceived by the then reigning 
emperors of Rome, assumed the purple in Britain, enlisted 
a great number of British youths, and departed for the 
continent to struggle for the empire of the world with the 
reigning emperors. Portunate at the commencement of his 
invasion in compassing the death of the emperor Gratian, 
his career was suddenly checked by Valentinian, Gratian’s 
brother, and partner in the empire, assisted by Theodosius 
the emperor of the east. At length taken prisoner he was 
put to death by the command of Theodosius, when his 
British followers retired to Armorica, and being received by 
the Belgse in a friendly manner settled there, and never 
returned to Britain again. 

16. The small number of Roman soldiers permitted to 
remain, in Britain, and the large number of Britons drawn 
off to the continent, encouraged the Piets and Scots to renew 
their depredations with increased energy. To uphold the 
sinking fortunes of this distant province, Theodosius, the 
then emperor of Rome, despatched Chrysantus, an officer 
of great importance, to superintend affairs here. He was 
completely successful, efficiently checking the incursions of 
the northern invaders. But the death ot Theodosius offered 
a favourable opportunity for the enemies of the Roman 
empire to renew their attacks. The Piets and Scots again 
invaded the kingdom, whilst a reinforcement of Roman 


BEITAI'N' TTHDEE THE EOMAHS. 


25 


soMiers sent here was speedily withdrawn to resist the 
attacks of the Goths, "Vandals, and other northern barba¬ 
rians, who were marching upon Rome itself. The remaining 
Roman soldiers in Britain forgot their allegiance to their 
emperor, and raised three successive members of their own 
body to supreme authority. Marcus and Gratian, the first 
two of these, were speedily murdered, whilst Constantine, 
the third elected, visited Gaul, carrying with him such 
British forces as he could obtain to struggle for the empire. 
At leugth he was defeated and slain, and his followers dis¬ 
persed. His British auxiliaries joined their countrymen in 
Brittany, where they were favourably received, and remained 
permanently attached to their adopted country. 

17. The period at length arrived when the luxury of the 
capitol had so enervated its citizens that they were no longer 
able to retain their supremacy over those distant colonies of 
the empire which required the smallest amount of military 
force. The salient parts of the Roman empire were simulta¬ 
neously attacked by hordes of barbarians, possessed of the 
greatest avidity for plunder, and an energy as unsubdued by 
the refinement of civilized life as by the tyranny of des¬ 
potism—a people whom defeats only exasperated to revenge 
withont destroying their brute ferocity. Britain, attacked 
by barbarians from the north, and pirates from the east; 
robbed of its natural defenders by the levies of the Romans, 
or by voluntary emigration; the remainder of w r hose people 
was steeped in the inebriating vices of their conquerors, 
could only remain in its present relationship to Rome by the 
presence of Roman legions, and when these were denied 
was obliged to succumb to a power it could but fruitlessly 
oppose. The Roman emperor, Honorius, finding it impos¬ 
sible to retain soldiers in a distant colony which were 
required for home service, withdrew his forces from Britain, 
and the Britons became again independent about the year 
409. “ This year the Goths took the city of Rome by storm, 

and after this the Romans never ruled in Britain.” 1 True 
they occasionally sent over a legion to the assistance of their 
former subjects—true this seasonable assistance procured 


1 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, sub. an. 409. 



26 


ENGLAND BEEOBE THE CONQUEST 


temporary success; but very soon this slender aid was 
denied, and the Britons were left alone to defend their 
country as they best might. 

18. The btoman domination in England was productive 
of immediate blessings, though not unmixed with the seeds 
of ultimate evils. The savage manners of the inhabitants, 
their degrading superstitions, and their tyrannical religion 
had been banished, and many of the seeds of civilization 
implanted ; but the inhabitants had become weakened in 
numbers by the incessant drain of youths to supply the 
chasms in the Homan army—enfeebled by the luxuries in¬ 
troduced amongst them by their Homan masters—and their 
independence subdued by their subservience to their con¬ 
querors. From being accustomed to place their dependence 
upon the Homans in times of difficulty, they became divested 
of the energy necessary to maintain their freedom when left 
to themselves. From the indolence of the Homanized and 
luxurious, and the divisions of the ambitious, they were 
unable to act in unity, and thus became the easy prey of the 
first daring adventurers. 


EDUCATION DURING THE ROMAN PERIOD. 


27 


CHAPTER III. 

HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN BRITAIN DURING THE ROMAN 

PERIOD. 

Having briefly described the character of the learning of 
the ancient Britons before the Roman invasion, in the first 
chapter—having shown that the Druids were the sole in¬ 
structors of the young—having succinctly related what 
history informs us of their learning, I propose now to pursue 
the subject. Ordinarily we expect to discover no definite 
boundary .line in a nation’s intellectual development. 
Silently the waves of progress move onward, indistinct at 
the time, and leaving only some general mark behind them. 
It is only when some great revolution in society takes place 
that retrogression or progress may be distinctly traced. The 
invasion of the Romans was of this nature. Under its in¬ 
fluence the half naked Briton lost his savage appearance,— 
the skin was exchanged for the toga, the mud hut for the 
house of comfort and convenience, and amongst the higher 
classes at least the mere produce of the chase for the luxury 
of the capitol. Nor was the change in intellectual pursuits 
less marked, as we shall presently see. 

2. Erom the time of Caesar to that of Agricola Roman 
generals had visited this island, but it was with the view of 
crushing the independence of the Britons by brute force. 
Most of them were probably too ignorant of human nature 
to suppose that the minds of these wild specimens of nature 
might be powerfully influenced by the voice of reason or 
their affections secured by actions of love. It was only 
when Agricola arrived here that the Britons were led to 
perceive that the invaders were generous if ambitious,—that 
if they desired renown by the acquisition of another island, 
and expected tribute from a conquered people, they were 


28 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


prepared to make some return for their unjustifiable aggres¬ 
sions. It was Agricola who shewed them the spark of 
Roman benevolence. And though patriotism remained un¬ 
subdued in the breasts of many, though the love of liberty 
filled the spirits of all,—yet there were those who very soon 
perceived the uselessness of the struggle of barbarism 
against civilization. There were those who were not in¬ 
sensible to acts of kindness, of flattery, and of elevation, 
and who consequently listened approvingly to the promises 
of the Roman commander. 

3. After the decline of the Druidical power m Britain 
the work of education may be considered to have recom¬ 
menced with the administration of Agricola. During the 
first winter of his abode in this island he devoted a large 
portion of his time to the work of reformation. Preparatory 
to other schemes of great import which he meditated, he 
reformed his own household, as has been before remarked, 
and rendered merit the only passport to advancement. The 
second winter witnessed a change in the appearance of 
British towns and British subjects. Temples, courts of 
justice, and dwelling houses were erected in accordance with 
Roman notions. Roman dresses were also worn, and a 
Roman education provided for those who were deemed 
qualified for such an indulgence. This, however, it must be 
borne in mind, was the right of princes. The sons of their 
chiefs were afforded the means of study, and their remark¬ 
able quickness secured for them the good opinion of their 
instructors, who favourably contrasted their intellectual 
capabilities with those of the Gaulish nobility. 1 “ The sous 
of their chiefs,” says Whittaker, ‘‘were now taught to ex¬ 
pand their views beyond the circle of a hunting life and the 
details of a traditionary history, and to enlarge their minds 
with acquisitions of knowledge. Their connection with the 
Romans put into their hands the great volume of literature, 
the history of men and the assemblage of the sciences, and 
they determined to read it. The difficulties of the Roman 
language gradually sunk before them, and the unknown 
worlds of science lay open to their view. They entered, 
seized the literary treasures of antiquity, and, for the first 


1 Tacitus, Life of Agrieola, c. 20, 21. 




EDUCATION DURING- THE ROMAN PERIOD. 


29 


time, introduced them into the regions of the north. Nor 
did they rest here. The luxury of study, and the pride of 
intellect, soon led the new votaries of learning from the use¬ 
ful and instructive to the ornamental and pleasing branches 
of literature. They invaded the fairy regions of classical 
taste, they studied the purity of the Korean language, and 
they cultivated the graces of the Koman composition.” 1 2 

4. To ascertain the amount of instruction communicated 
to the Britons it will be necessary for us briefly to review 
the character of continental learning at this period. During 
the first century the Greeks held the foremost place among 
the nations of the earth for literary acquirements. Here 
were the most eminent of rhetoricians, here the philosophers 
who taught the doctrines of Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, and 
Epicureus. 3 In Koine learning was appreciated. The higher 
classes were there instructed in the Greek language and elo¬ 
quence. Thence they proceeded to the study of philosophy 
and law, and finally travelled to Greece to complete their 
education. 3 The colony at Marseilles, which had so early 
obtained a reputation for its interest in the cause of learning, 
still maintained it. 4 In the early part of the second century 
literature flourished at Kome, but declined during the reigns 
of the successors of Trojan. The learning of the Koman 
youths was very superficial. 5 During this century Kome 
witnessed the erection of a public school at the direction of 
the emperor Adrian, where the sciences were taught; whilst 
Berytus, in Phoenicia, was founded for the study of the 
law. 6 The irruption of barbarians in the third century pre¬ 
vented the reigning' emperors from paying that attention to 
education which they otherwise might have done, and learn¬ 
ing consequently decayed. The short reigns of the emperors 
were highly unfavourable to learning—their violent deaths 
rendered their successors more attentive in providing 
means for their own safety than for the improvement of the 
people. No less than twenty-three emperors reigned (either 
separately, occasionally, or two conjointly) during this period. 


1 Hist. Manchester, b. i, p. 310. 

2 Mosheim Eccles. Hist., vol. i, p. 92. 

3 Ibid, p. 93. 

4 Ibid, p. 94. 

6 Ibid, p. 166, 

6 Ibid, 




30 


ENGLAND BEEOIIE THE CONQUEST. 


many of them being by education and inclination averse to 
the cultivation of the mental powers of the people. Similar 
causes similarly retarded mental improvement .during the 
fourth century, yet we are told that philosophy, eloquence, 
poetry, and history, were studied by both Greeks and Latins 
during this period . 1 Now some, if not all, of these branches 
of study must have been communicated to the Britons b}^ 
their Roman teachers, but unfortunately we have no means 
of ascertaining the particular subjects. That they paid 
great attention to the study of rhetoric we can hardly 
doubt, when we consider the importance attached to the 
“art of speaking with propriety” by the Romans ; 2 and 
when we are distinctly informed by Tacitus that the Britons 
in the time of Agricola were desirous of becoming eloquent. 3 
Civil law must also have claimed a large share of their 
attention, for we find that Britons were sent to Gaul to 
receive instruction in this subject . 4 If we could believe the 
authority of the British historian, Gildas, we should assert 
that the Roman language was at length generally under¬ 
stood in the island. This, however, appears to be impossible, 
and we rather agree with the observation of Lord Macaulay, 
“ It is not probable that the islanders were at any time 
generally familiar with the tongue of their Italian rulers .” 5 
Nevertheless, we must be cautious in receiving the opinion 
even of so eminent a man as Lord Macaulay, when that 
opinion is unsupported by facts, and when, moreover, an 
opposite assertion is made by a respectable ancient historian. 
Our wisest course is, perhaps, a medium one. The assertion 
ot Gildas is doubtless an exaggerated statement; but so are 
many others, made not only by himself but by other histo¬ 
rians also, which we do not altogether reject. Stripped of 
its colouring there may be truth even in a fable. Lord 
Macaulay probably meant nothing more than that the masses 
of the people were not Latinized in speech—that those w r ho 
studied the Roman language were few in comparison with 
the population. That the masses were acquainted with the 


1 Mosheim Eccles. Hist., vol. i, p. 257, et passim. 

2 See the works of Cicero, Quinctilian, Tacitus. 

3 Life of Agricola, c. 21. 

4 Juvenal, Satire 15. 

5 Macaulay’s Hist. Eng., vol. 1, c. 1. 




EDUCATION DURING THE ROMAN PERIOD, 


31 


Latin language, we, who know anything of the difficulty of 
its mastery, shall reject as impossible; for although it may 
have been easier to acquire a knowledge of the language 
when a living one, yet its difficulties must have been, even 
then, such as years of study could alone have surmounted. 
The truth doubtless is that all those children whose parents 
were in a position to secure for them au education learnt the 
Latin tongue. That the number thus engaged was con¬ 
tinually increasing; that at length, in the abstract, there 
were very many classical scholars ; whilst considered rela¬ 
tively to the masses of the population they were very few. 
And the same remarks are equally applicable to the other 
branches of instruction; for those who studied Latin had 
equal opportunities for attaining a knowledge in the other 
subjects of study then taught. 

5. The real work of education amongst the Britons was 
commenced by Agricola, yet that education was, as we have 
seen, confined to the higher classes. 1 Whilst th efew were 
instructed the many were, according to the Roman system, 
drawn off from the island to fight their conquerors’ battles. 
The higher classes, taught by their instructors not only the 
virtues of civilized life, but also its vices, drank deeply of 
the cup of luxury, and were rendered so effeminate that when 
the period arrived for their emancipation from Roman bond¬ 
age, and the power to assert their independence lay within 
their grasp, we perceive them too weak and disunited to 
secure the prize of liberty. 2 Learning, though it might 
have refined their taste, lost its potency from having been 
overwhelmed by vicious indulgences. This learning, more¬ 
over, must have been partial, for Biitain, as Lord Macaulay 
eloquently remarks, “ received only a faint tincture of Roman 
arts and letters.” 3 

6. The introduction of Christianity into Britain,—by 


1 Martial intimates that the ancient Britons read the Roman poets. 

2 “ For stories teach us, that liberty sought out of season, in a corrupt and de¬ 
generate age, brought Rome itself to a farther slavery; for liberty hath a sharp and 
double edge, fit only to be handled by just and virtuous men; to the bad and disso¬ 
lute it becomes a mischief unwieldy in their own hands: neither is it completely 
given but by them who have the happy skill to know what is grievance and unjust to 
a people, and know how to remove it wisely ; what good laws are wanting, and how 
to frame them substantially, that good men may enjoy the freedom which they 
merit, and the bad feel the curb which they need.” — Milton’s History of Great 
Britain, lib. iii, p. 88. 

3 Macaulay, vol. i, p. 4. 



32 


ENGLAND EEEOItE THE CONQUEST. 


whom, however, is uncertain, 1 2 —must have been a stimulus 
to education. That Christianity made rapid progress m the 
island, and that some ot the native Britons early distinguished 
themselves, we may gather from the fact that not only were 
three British bishops, a priest, and a deacon present at the 
Council of Arles, assembled in the year a.d. 314, 2 but also 
took part in the controversy, and in some measure combated 
the Homan views. 

7. It w^as the policy of the Homans to establish schools 
in their conquered provinces, and Britain was not an ex¬ 
ception to the general rule. Unfortunately for us we have 
no particular account of the seminaries of learning estab¬ 
lished here, though other countries are more fortunate. 
Certain we may be of one thing, that most of the celebrated 
towns of that period had schools. l)r. Hem y enumerates 
Lincoln, York, Chester, Caerleou, and London, as towns 
which probably enjoyed the privilege: but this is a mere 
conjecture. We must be content to believe that there were 
such institutions in the island. They doubtless flourished 
whilst the Homan authority remained dominant. They de¬ 
clined and w r ere destroyed by the Piets and Scots when the 
Homan patronage ceased to exist, or by the Saxon con¬ 
querors, At the commencement of the fifth century schools 
were established in Britain through the influence of a foreign 
prelate. Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, who came over to 
suppress the Pelagian heresy, founded several schools in 
Britain. Amongst them were the schools of Hensland (or 
ILenllan), and Mockrost (or Mockross), placed under the 
superintendence of Dubricius, bishop of London, who often 
had, we are told, as many as a thousand scholars, collected 
from every part of the island. There was the school of 
Llantwit, taught by Iltutus, 3 amongst the number of whose 
pupils were the celebrated Hildas, and Daniel, who became 
bishop of Bangor. Paulinus presided over a school at 
Whiteland, in Caermarthenskire, one of whose scholars, for 


1 Kapier asserts with much plausibility that Christianity was introduced into 
Britain by the soldiers of the ho man army, between the invasion of Claudius and 
the defeat of Boadicea. Hist. Eng., vol. i, p. 28. 

2 Craik, Henry’s Hist. Eng., lib. i, c. 2, sec. 2. On the authority of Spelman 
British bishops were also present at the Council of Sardica, 347, and lionnni, 3±y. 
Kemble’s Saxons in England, vol. ii, p. 355. 

3 Kapier"s iiist. Eng., vol. i, p. 43. Henry’s Hist. Eng., vol. vi, p. 38. 








EDUCATION DURING THE ROMAN PERIOD. 


33 


a period of ten years, was St. David, tlie patron saint of 
W ales. There was also the school of Lancarvan, and the 
monastery of Bangor previously established, where British 
youths were educated. Yet ignorance was the rule in 
Britain, learning the exception, during this dark period. 1 

8. We must now briefly direct our attention to the 
poetry of the ancient Britons. 2 In studying the early history 
of a nation’s literature our minds are naturally directed 
towards their poetical compositions. The effusions of poesy 
are more truly in unison with an infantile state of the mind 
than prosy dissertations. The child is attracted by the 
measured strains of versification—if he cannot fully under¬ 
stand he can admire. And the childhood of a nation is aptly 
represented by the infantile state of an individual. He 
directs his attention almost exclusively to the objects which 
surround him. With foreign subjects and abstract ideas 
he can have no concern. The similarity in manners and 
customs, and strains of thought of a pristine people is per¬ 
ceptible in the mo4 distantly located states. Diversity is 
only seen in the different objects which attract the attention 
and educe diversified ideas. The general character of the 
JNorth American Indian, the Polynesian, the ancient Briton, 
the Saxon, and the early Greek, is precisely similar. And 
indeed how could it be otherwise ? They all belong to the 
same parent stem. All have similarly consituted minds, all 
are mortal,—their characters only become peculiar through 
peculiar associations. 

9. Leaving these general reflections, let us approach our 
immediate business—the consideration of the poetry of the 


1 LORD’S PRATER IN' ANCIENT BRITISH. 

Eyen Taad, rhuvn wytyn y ueofoedodd; 

Santeiddier yr hemvu taw 

De vedy dyrnas daw 

Gweler dy wollys arryddayar megis agyn y nefi 

Eyn bara beunydda vul dyro innibedctivu 

Ammoddew ynny eyn deledion megis agi maddwu in deledwir minaw 

Agna thowys ni in brofedigaetli 

Namyn gwaredni rhag drug. Coote’s Hist. Eng., vol. i, p. 487. 

2 “Their (the Muses’) lays have always been found to be most captivating and 
most exciting to the young minds. They are the most comprehensive form of lettered 
intellect; and being, in their rudest state, the effusions of the feelings of the day, 
they excite congenial feelings in those who hear and read them. Poetry is sympathy 
addressing sympathy; and if its subjects were but worthy of its excellences, it 
would lead the human mind to every attainable perfection.”— Turner, Hist. A. S., 
vol. ii, p. 3. 

D 



34s ENGLAND BEEOllE THE CONQUEST. 

ancient Britons. I have before alluded to the Druids a& 
their directors. These, venerated by a people whom they 
held in bondage, were yet regarded only with awe, unmixed 
with one particle of affection. Different, however, was it 
with the bards. These were, indeed, a portion of that privi¬ 
leged class but as the distinctive office of the Druids was 
the priesthood, so was that of the bards versification. The 
Druids dealt in mysteries beyond the comprehension of the 
vulgar, the bards addressed themselves to the masses. They 
incited them to war by their affecting strains : they restrained 
their rage by the soothing power of verse w 7 hen moderation 
was necessary. At this distance of time we regard the 
Druids with feelings akin to contempt, but our sympathies 
lead us to look upon the bards with a spirit of admiration 
and even love. 

The bards have been divided into three classes, each of 
them strictly confining its attention to one particular class 
of subject. There were theFer-Laoi or Hymnists ; the Sena- 
chies, or poetical historians; the Fer-Dan, or eulogists of 
contemporary warriors. 1 2 3 Specimens of the compositions of 
the last of these classes only have reached us. And what is 
their character ? We cannot indeed read them without sin¬ 
cerely regretting the irreparable loss of the others. We 
turn from the sickly compositions of many modern poetasters 
to the original ideas of the ancient bards with sincere de¬ 
light. There is no artistic display in them it is true, but 
there we have the genuine feelings of the heart depicted. 
And yet there was art in their production. They were com¬ 
posed for the memory, not for the pen, and were conse¬ 
quently so arranged that one line was a natural sequel to the 
preceding. One line remembered, all must be. Like the 
propositions of Euclid, each line depending upon a preceding 
one. .No forced imagery to detract the attention, no length¬ 
ened digression, no loquacity, no common-place verbiage— 
all natural, concise, and to the point. Such were the poems 
of those time-honoured men. 3 


1 Strictly speaking, the Druids were divided into three classes : the Druids proper, 
who performed all the offices of the priesthood; the Vates, or sacred musicians; 
and the Bards, or secular poets. Hist. Brit., lib. i, c. 2. 

2 Macpherson’s Introduction to the Ancient British Nation, p. 257, 

'3 Dr. Blair’s Dissertation on Ossian’s poems. 



THE SAXON INVASION. 


35 


CHAPTER IV. 

THE SAXON INVASION-. 

1. Erom the period of the departure of the Roman 
forces from this island to the arrival of the Saxons we have 
no reason to believe that the Britons advanced in intellectual 
attainments. The little republics which they formed were 
engaged in healing or fermenting internal dissensions, or in 
opposing the ruthless invaders of the north—the Piets and 
Scots, who, like locusts, were devouring their hard-earned 
fruits, and encroaching like foaming billows upon their ter¬ 
ritory. Little leisure, limited means, and still less inclina¬ 
tion had a people in such a case for the encouragement of 
learning. In studying the early history of a people we 
invariably find their ministers of religion their intellectual 
instructors. Was this the case in Britain after the destruc¬ 
tion of the Druids ? Had the Druids any successors, pro¬ 
mulgating a purer faith and engaged in the work of tuition ? 
There undoubtedly had succeeded a Christian church in 
Britain—still were there British priests and bishops, but the 
doctrines they taught had been engrafted on the expiring 
embers of Druidism, 1 affording them a transient gleam of 
returning life ere their vitality should disappear for ever. 

2. The Britons had, moreover, been corrupted by the 
heresies of Arian and Pelagius, and much time which might 
have been usefully employed, was spent upon the defence of 
these doctrines. The British church, indeed, disconnected 
and ignorant, was in no position to stimulate the education 
of British youth, and the power to do so was soon transfered 
to other hands. In the year a.d. 449, the Saxons, invited 
by the disheartened Britons, made their appearance on the 


1 Henry’s Hist. Eng., vol, i, p, 181, 






36 


ENGLAND BEFOKE THE CONQUEST. 


island 1 to assist the inhabitants in repelling the Piets and 
Scots, who had penetrated into the heart of the kingdom. 
“ So much do men, through impatience, count ever that the 
heaviest, which they bear at present, and, to remove the evil 
which they suffer, care not though they act in such a manner 
as to pull on a greater; as if variety and change in evil also 
were acceptable. Or, whether it be that men, in the des¬ 
pair of better, imagine fondly a kind of refuge in a change 
from one misery to another.” 2 

3. As the Britons belonged to the first great migration 
from the. east, so did the Saxons form a portion of the second 
or Teutonic family. Originally settling in northern Ger¬ 
many, 3 they now extended their migrations and became the 
despoilers of the British Celts. Disinclined to cultivate the 
then unproductive soil they occupied on the continent, 
habituated to a nomadic life, and addicted to plunder, they 
became the terror of neighbouring tribes. The ocean w*as 
their peculiar element, and in their shallow barks they 
braved its tempestuous waves in search of booty from some 
unsuspecting and perhaps distant coast. The inhabitants of 
the villages they attacked fled at their approach, and ere a 
sufficient force could be collected to oppose them these 
pirates had decamped with the richest plunder they could 
find. This was the people that eventually became masters 
of Britain. These pirates were our ancestors. Our tem¬ 
perament, physiognomy, manners, customs, and institutions 
harmonize with the fact. The indomitable perseverance, 
untiring energy, and martial courage—the light hair, florid 
complexion and pale blue eye—the love of a seafaring life, 


1 A. S. Chron., sub. an. 449. 

2 Milton’s Hist, of Great Britain, p. 98. 

3 Craik. Palgrave maintains that they were emigrants from Friesland. Dr. 
Latham objects to the assertion that they came from Friesland. He observes -. 
“ Friesland, indeed, if we look to the present condition of the languages allied to 
the English, and spoken in Germany, gives us the nearest approximation to the 
mother-country of the mother-tongue of the English. Nevertheless it is not 
exactly from Friesland that the Anglo-Saxon was derived; so that Friesland is only 
an approximation.” After a learned disquisition upon the real origin of our Saxon 
forefathers, he concludes that the original area of those Angles of Germany, who 
afterwards became the so-called Anglo-Saxons of Britain, “ lay between Bendsburg 
and Hanover, between Verden and Luneberg, and between Breinenvorde and Celle.” 
(Handbook of the English Language, p.p. 7, 96.) Eapin says that when the Britons 
sent for them they inhabited Westphalia, Saxony, east and west Friesland, Holland, 
and Zealand. (Vol. i, p. 26.) 






THE SAXON INVASION. 37 

lingering superstition, and peculiarity of food, still proclaim 
our Saxon descent. 1 

4. The Piets and Scots, excited by a savage tliirst for 
plunder, inundated the northern provinces of Britain, as the 
Saxons afterwards did the southern. Like the Saxons too, 
they hastened home with their booty ere any powerful force 
could be collected to oppose them. We may judge of the 
ferocity of their enterprizes, and the extent of their mischief, 
by reflecting that from the days of Agricola to the time of 
the Saxon invasion the united forces of the British and 
Boman soldiers in Britain were sometimes insufficient to 
check them. Bepeatedly were the Bo man armies marched 
against these freebooters, yet successive Boman generals 
were unable to subdue them. More than one Boman em¬ 
peror bent his steps towards their territory. More than one 
Boman army was checked by them. Walls and ramparts 
proved insufficient to ward off their attacks, and not long 
after the Bomans left the island did they appear with vastly 
increased strength in the centre of the country. Whilst 
the Britons continued the Celts of the time of Csesar they 
were enabled to oppose their ferocious attacks with like 
ferocity, but it now required the piratical rovers of unsub¬ 
dued German territories to restrain this robber-race. 

5. The Saxons, invited by the desponding Britons to 
their assistance, made their appearance upon the British 
shores, under their renowned leaders Hengist and Horsa, 
and soon dissipated the northern hordes of barbarians, slav¬ 
ing them in desperate encounters, or pursuing them towards 
their mountain fastnesses. 2 

6. The Saxons, in travelling through Britain in pursuit 
of the foe, perceived the fruitful nature of the country, and 
doubtless contrasted it with their own sterile homes and the 
abodes of their relatives on the continent. They could not 
but have compared their own dangerous and fatiguing course 
of life with the comparatively easy one of the Britons. They 
remembered that they were themselves adventurers in search 
of fortune; that the wealth of their parents was already 
bestowed upon elder branches of their families. They must 
have been fully cognisant of their superiority in the perils 


1 Turner’s History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. vi, lib. i, c. 1. Palgrave. 

2 A. S. Cliron, Bede’s Eccles. Hist. 



38 


ENGLAND BEEOKE THE CONQUEST. 


of actual warfare to the Romanized Britons. They were 
well aware that hordes of their own race were at liberty on 
the continent to embark upon any expedition upon the first 
summons. 1 They must, indeed, have reflected that now was 
an opportunity presented to them to grasp a kingdom, and 
that that opportunity once lost might recur no more for 
ever. With the natural feelings of barbarians, perfectly 
unscrupulous as to the means of obtaining that which they 
desired, thev resolved to remain firm in an island to which 
their good fortune had directed them. It was not, however, 
without many severe struggles that the permanent occupa¬ 
tion of the country was effected. 2 On the one hand was ar¬ 
rayed a semi-barbarous people, whose innate courage, martial 
prowess, and impenetrable cunning had baffled the arms of 
the Romans for thirty years, and who w r ere ODly finally sub¬ 
dued by acts of kindness blended with prudent firmness. 
Though in some measure degenerated from their savage an¬ 
cestors in patriotic courage, their ancient and natural daring 
might be expected to revive in defence of their fatherland 
against their treacherous allies. On the other hand was a 
pristine race of hardy warriors, who spurned the idea of 
death and dreamt of nought but victory. Unaccustomed to 
defeat, anticipating unlimited support from their countrymen 
at home, and allying themselves to the Piets and Scots, 
their former enemies, 3 they formed an invincible host, and 
might confidently depend upon the subjugation of the 
Britons. JSor wmre they wrong in their expectations. The 
work was surely though slowly accomplished. Within the 
space of one hundred and eighty years from the arrival of 
Heugist and Horsa no fewer than six or seven 4 different ex¬ 
peditions had arrived in the island, and the Saxon dominion 


1 Bede, Hist. Eng., lib., c. 15. 

2 Bede, lib. i, c. 16 and 20. The A. S. Chron. enumerates upwards of twenty 
battles between the Saxons and the British and Welsh. 

3 Bede’s Eccles. Hist. 

4 Dr. Latham enumerates six different settlements of invaders from Germany. 
The first, a.d. 449, under Hengist and Horsa, calling themselves Jutes, and estab¬ 
lishing the kingdom of Kent. The second, a.b. 477, under Ella, denominated 
Saxons, settling in Sussex (the south Saxons). The third, a.d. 495, under Cerdic, 
landing in Hampshire, and establishing the kingdom of the west Saxons (Wessex). 
The fourth, a.d. 530, when certain Saxons landed in Essex. [The first monarch was 
Erkenwin.] The fifth, Angles, settling in Norfolk and Suffolk during the reign of' 
Cerdic. [The first king, Uffa, began to reign 575.] The sixth, a.d. 547, Angles, 
under Ida, settling in the south-western part of Scotland. [Mercia appears to have 
been founded by Creda, 585.] 



THE SAXOH INVASION. 


39 


was thus proudly established; the remnant of the Britons 
being driven into the mountain fastnesses of Wales and 
■Cumberland, or the peninsula of Cornwall. It would be 
tedious and unprofitable, and, moreover, foreign to the 
nature of this work to relate in detail the history of the 
Saxons from their arrival in England to the reign of their 
first sole sovereign in Britain,—'I shall therefore but briefly 
allude to it. Having conquered the country, they appro¬ 
priated such inhabitants of the soil as had not fled to the 
mountainous region of the West to their own immediate 
use, and this remnant of the ancient Britons thus became 
the slaves of the barbarous Saxons. Yet for all this the 
tide of affairs did not run smoothly with them. They had 
unjustly acquired a territory, and the uplifted hand of justice 
frequently fell severely upon them. We cannot believe that 
their British slaves were the most tractable of beings: we 
know that more of their own countrymen arrived than were 
welcome, nor are we left in ignorance of the civil discord 
which sprung up amongst themselves; and all these things 
tended to rob them of peace. Now do we see one kingdom 
swallowed up by a more powerful neighbour ; now one petty 
prince struggling for the Bretwaldaship 1 to gratify his over¬ 
towering ambition; now Christianity reverenced, now des¬ 
pised ; now civilization progressing and learning encouraged, 
and now by some sudden impulse as fearfully depressed. 
But the period at length arrived when the separate interests 
of chieftainship should be subjected to the control of one 
will,—when the evils of a heptarchy should be dismissed for 
the more permanent advantages of a central government,— 
when local rulers, who would not hear the voice of reason 
when urged in opposition to their own fancied interests, 
should be compelled to succumb to the strong arm of power. 

EGBEET. 

7. Egbert was descended from Cer.dic, the founder of the 
kingdom of Wessex. Being a young man of aspiring char¬ 
acter, he gave great uneasiness to Bertric (or Brithric) the 
reigning prince, who determined to destroy him. .Ap- 


1 One of the most powerful of the petty Saxon kings appears always to have held 
& kind of authority over the rest as lord paramount, and was styled Bretwalda. 



40 


ENGLAND BEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


prized of his danger, however, Egbert fled to Offa, king of 
Mercia, by whom he was generously received. Offa was 
offered money to give up the young prince, but Egbert had 
the good fortune to escape to France. 1 

8. At this time France was under the rule of the power¬ 
ful Charlemagne, the greatest prince of his age. In his 
court was young Egbert’s ambition stimulated, and his 
crude ideas moulded into a more definite shape. Here he 
doubtless determined to attempt those actions which after¬ 
wards advanced him to the sovereignty of the whole island. 
Upon the death of Bertric, who was poisoned by his wife, 
Egbert was invited to return to England, which invitation 
he accepted, and was crowned king of Wessex in the year 
a.d. 800. 2 Immediately upon his accession to the sovereignty 
of Wessex he commenced that series of military operations 
which has rendered his name so famous. After having sub¬ 
jugated the Britons of Cornwall, he turned his victorious 
arms against the Mercians. In the year 824 he fought the 
battle of Hellendun (Wilton) with Bernulf, king of the 
Mercians, and completely defeated him. 3 Kent, Surrey, the 
South Saxons and East Saxons, were next subjugated by him, 
Mercia rendered tributary, and Northumbria, despairing of 
success, yielded to his power. 4 Thus did he become at least 
the nominal master of the whole of England. 

9. Egbert, though thus successful in subjugating his 
countrymen, was not permitted to enjoy the fruits of his 
labours in peace, for fresh enemies now made their appear¬ 
ance in the persons of the Danes. In the year 787 the 
Danes invaded Britain. 5 Bemg nearly related to the Saxons, 
some of them claiming descent from Woden, the acknow¬ 
ledged ancestor of Hengist, they belonged to the great 
Teutonic family. Having settled in Scandinavia, and rapidly 
increasing in numbers, 6 this comparatively inhospitable 
country speedily became too thickly peopled. Their laws of 


1 W. of Malm. Chvon., lib. ii, c. 1. The A. S. Chron. (836) says that Bertric 
assisted Offa in driving; Egbert out of the kingdom, because he had married his 
daughter. W. of Malm, asserts that Offa was induced to assist Bertric, in opposi¬ 
tion to Egbert, from flattering allurements, which allurements were the project oi' 
the marriage of his daughter with Bertric, and the bribe above reierred to. 

2 William of Malm., lib. ii, c. 1. 

3 Ibid. 

4 Ibid. 

5 A. S. Chron. 

6 Worsaaes Danes, Intro, p. xvi. • 



THE SAXON INVASION. 


41 


hereditary succession, like the Saxon, left the younger sons 
generally unprovided for, and these were consequently 
compelled to seek their own fortune. Provided by their 
parents, perhaps, with small boats and the necessary accou¬ 
trements, they committed themselves to the mercy of the 
waves when they were unable to steer their course to some 
desired coast. They had been accustomed to mock the 
foaming billows from their infancy, and the seas had conse¬ 
quently little terror for them. Nay, the happiness which 
was promised to the shipwrecked by their degraded system 
of religion, induced them to court dangers which to other 
minds would have been most appalling. “ The force of the 
storm,” they would sing, “is a help to the arm of our 
rowers; the hurricane is in our service, it carries us the way 
we would go.” 1 2 

10. In the Saxon Chronicle there appears the first entry 
respecting these Danes in the year 787, which has been 
translated as follows: “ This year took Bertric king Ofia’s 
daughter Eadburghe to wife. And in his days first came 
three ships of northmen from Haeretha (heathen) land 
(Denmark). And the reeve (sheriff) thereto rode and them 
would drive to the king’s town because he wist not what 
they were; and him there they slew.” These were the first 
ships of Danish men that sought the English land. The 
invasions of the Danes continued throughout many succes¬ 
sive reigns, until they at length became masters of the 
country, which, however, they held but a short period. 
Egbert defeated them in several battles, but they neverthe¬ 
less periodically revisited the country. He died in the year 
836.2 


ETHELWTTLF. 

11- Upon the death of Egbert, in the year 836 or 837, 
Ethelwulf, his son, succeeded him. Egbert had consolidated 


1 As quoted by Thierry, p. 21. (Whittaker’s edition.) This was the people of 
whom Turner speaks (Hist, Eng., vol. i, p. 29) and asserts that their criminals pre- 
ferred death to blows, and made it tbeir pride to die laughing. The whole nation 
abhorred tears and wailing, and never wept for a dying friend. 

Haller says of them : “ They feared no wounds and looked upon death as the 
passage to the palaces of the gods. They never considered the number of their 
enemies, and singly attacked whole armies. The gallant Ragnar sung his funeral 
hymn with gnawing snakes in his bosom.”—Translated from the German of Alberi' 
von Haller by Francis Steinitz. 

2 A. S. Chron., sub. an. 836. 



42 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


a kingdom by skilful manoeuvres and personal valour, yet 
left an ample field of glory for bis son, though not without 
a presentiment that the abilities of that son were unequal to 
the task of seizing it. 1 The early inclinations of Ethelwulf 
most certainly warranted his father’s unfavourable opinion of 
him, for we are informed that during Egbert’s lifetime he 
was in clerical orders, having been ordained bishop of Win¬ 
chester. 2 Although Roger of Wendover 3 is the only other 
ancient historian who mentions this circumstance, the story 
seems probable enough. William of Malmesbury, indeed, 
informs us that he preferred a life of peacefulness to the 
bustling excitement attendant upon kingly power. 4 And 
the easy manner in which he permitted his sous to rob 
him of his dominion, clearly evinces his unfitness for the 
government of such a kingdom as England in such 
times. Soon after his accession to the throne he appears 
to have willingly yielded up those provinces of England con¬ 
quered by his father, Egbert, to his son Athelstan, 5 con¬ 
tenting himself with his paternal kingdom of Wessex. 6 Of 
this son’s subsequent history very little is known. He 
appears to have been frequently engaged in contests with 
the Danes,—at one time defeating them in a naval battle 
hereafter to be more particularly mentioned. He appears 
to have died before his father, and the government with 
which he was invested returned into the hands of the king. 
It was fortunate for Ethelwulf that he had prudent and 
brave counsellors. Whilst Ealstan, bishop of {Sherborne, 
developed the military resources of the country, and pro¬ 
vided the exchequer with the means of defraying military 
expenses, 7 {St. Swithin, of Winchester, attended to the 
spiritual instruction of the king. There was every need of 
bravery and prudence in those who held the reins of govern¬ 
ment at this period, for the Danes, who had first invaded 


1 W. of Malm., lib. ii, e. 1. 

2 Henry of Huntington, lib. v. Capgrave says lie was first a monk of Winchester. 

3 Flowers of History, vol. i, p. 187. 

4 W. of Malmesbury, vol. ii, c. 2. 

5 A. S. Chron., Ethelward’s Chron., W. of Malmesbury. Florence of Worcester, 
Roger of Wendover. Roger de Hovedon, Huntingdon and Mailros, assert that 
Athelstan, king of Kent, Surrey, and the South Saxons, was the son of Egbert, 
Egbert dividing his kingdom between his two sons Ethelwulf and Athelstan. See 
Turner, vol. i, p. 41& 

6 W. of Malmesbury, lib. ii, c. 1. 

7 W. of Malmesbury, lib. ii, c. 2. 



THE SAXON PERIOD. 


43 


England in the reign of Egbert, now renewed their attacks 
with redoubled fury. One band of these pirates was no 
sooner defeated, than a second made its appearance. In the 
words of an old historian, “ It was wonderful how, when 
the English kings were hastening to encounter them in the 
eastern districts, before they could fall in with the enemy’s 
bands, a hurried messenger would arrive and say, ‘ Sir king, 
whither are you marching ? The heathens have disembarked 
from a countless fleet on the southern coast, and are ravaging 
the towns and villages, carrying fire and slaughter into every 
quarter.’ The same day another messenger would come 
running, and say, ‘ Sir king, whither are you retreating ? 
A formidable army has landed in the west of England, and 
if you do not quickly turn your face toward them, they will 
think you are fleeing, and follow in your rear with fire and 
sword.’ Again, the same day, or on the morrow r , another 
messenger would arrive, saying, ‘What place, O noble 
chief, are you making for ? The Danes have made a descent 
in the north, already they have burnt your mansions, even 
now they are sweeping away your goods; they are tossing 
your young children, raised on the points of their spears; 
your wives, some they have forcibly dishonoured, others they 
have carried off with them.’ Bewildered by such various 
tidings of bitter woe, both kings and people lost their vigour, 
both of mind and body, and were utterly prostrated ; so 
that even w hen they defeated the enemy, victory was not 
attended with its wonted triumphs, and supplied no confi¬ 
dence for the future.” 1 Considering the unsettled state of 
England at the time, and the w r eak character of the monarch, 
we are not surprised that the Danes were frequently victo¬ 
rious ; our only wonder is how the Saxons resisted the 
attacks of their numerous and barbarian enemies so firmly, 
and gained so many battles. 

12. Of all the successes of the Saxons at this period, tw r o 
victories claim our special attention ; the first, in consequence 
of the magnitude of the slaughter of the Danes in a great 
battle; and the second, rendered remarkable by the defeat 
of these pirates upon their own element—the sea. The first 
victory here alluded to was obtained at Ocklev, in Surrey, 


1 Henry of Huntingdon, preface to book v. 






44* 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST 


in the sixteenth year of the reign of Ethelwnlf. The Danes 
had landed from two hundred and fifty ships at the mouth 
of the Thames. Proceeding to London, they stormed that 
city, and afterwards routed the forces of the Mercian king. 
Advancing to Ockley, they were there met by the royal 
forces, and a battle ensuing, “ the warriors fell on both sides 
like com in harvest,” and the bodies and limbs of the slain 
were swept along by rivers of blood. 1 This sanguinary 
battle resulted in a decided victory of the Saxons. The same 
year, Athelstan, the Kentish king, with his alderman 
Ealhere, gained a naval victory over the Danes, taking nine 
of their ships and putting the remainder of the fleet to 
flight. 2 

13. In the year 853, Ethelwulf sent his son Alfred to 
Koine, whither he himself went in the following year. Pre- 
viousy to his departure, however, he granted by royal 
charter every tenth hide of land in his kingdom to the 
servants of Christ. Ethelwulf remained twelve months in 
Kome, and whilst there granted a household tax of one penny 
upon every dwelling in the kingdom to the Koman pontiff, 
which was afterwards denominated “ Peter’s pence.” In 
returning to England, Ethelwulf visited Erance, where he 
married Judith, daughter of Charles, the Frankish king. 3 

14. Ethelwulf did not meet with so friendly a reception 
upon his return to England as he perhaps anticipated. His 
son Ethelbald, Ealstan, bishop of Sherborne, and Enulf, 
earl of Somerset, who had doubtless been invested with 
great power during his absence, now conspired against him 
and endeavoured to rob him of his kingdom. 4 Many reasons 
combined to produce this conspiracy. Ethelwulf was a weak 
prince, unfit for the government of the country; and this 
fact was well known to the bishop of Sherborne, who had so 
long directed the military affairs of the kingdom. Then, 
again, his marriage and treatment of Judith brought upon 
him many enemies. William of Malmsbury, indeed, does 
not scruple to assert that this was the cause of the hostility 
of his people; for Judith was held in the highest esteem by 

1 Henry of Huntingdon, lib. v. Roger de Hovedon’s Annals, p. 36. 

2 Ibid. 

3 W. of Malms. Chron., lib. ii, c. 2. There is much difference of opinion, how¬ 
ever, as to when the tax referred to was first granted. 

4 Ibid. 



THE SAXON PEBIOD. 


45 


the king, and permitted to sit on the throne next himself, 
contrary to the custom of the West Saxons. 1 

15. Since the death of Bertric, the predecessor of Egbert, 
—who, as has been remarked, was poisoned by his queen, 
Eadburga,—no honours had been permitted to the wife of 
a West Saxon monarch. Boger of Wendover, states that 
this conspiracy of Ethelwulf’s subjects was in some measure 
brought about in consequence of the king’s marriage with 
Judith, a Erankish princess, to the exclusion of a Saxon 
lady from this high dignity. 2 But according to the same 
authority, the chief cause of this plot was the crowning of 
young Alfred, by the pope, as the future sovereign of 
England 3 ; which, if it really took place at the time, was a 
just cause of umbrage to his elder brothers. The result, 
however, of this conspiracy was a division of his paternal 
kingdom of Wessex between himself and his son Ethelbald, 
the latter acquiring the eastern and better part of the divi¬ 
sion, whilst Ethelwulf was obliged to remain content with 
the western and inferior portion. 4 Erom this arrangement 
it would appear that Athelstan, king of the South Saxons 
was still living; he must, however, have died soon after, for 
two years had but elapsed after the return of Ethelwulf 
when he (Ethelwulf) died, leaving to Ethelbald, his eldest 
son, the kingdom of Wessex, and to Ethelbert, his second 
son, the kingdom of Kent, Surrey, and the South Saxons 
previously held by Athelstan. 5 

ETHELBALD. 

16. Ethelbald acquired the full sovereignty of Wessex in 
the year 857. His reign lasted but five years. It was a 
continual struggle with the Danes, who incessantly invaded 
the land. In the early part of his reign he was very un¬ 
popular with the people in consequence of his marriage with 
his step-mother J udith; but putting her away two years 
afterwards, and doing penance for his wickedness, he re¬ 
placed himself in public estimation, so that at his death “ all 


1 Ibid. 

2 Flowers of History, p. 186. 

3 Ibid. 

4 Ibid. 

5 A. S. Chron.—H. of Huntingdon’s Cbron. 


* 






46 ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 

England lamented the royal youth, and mourned over hint 
deeply, and they buried him at Sherborne, and the English 
people felt what they had lost in him.” 1 2 

ETHELBERT. 

17. Ethelbert succeeded his brother in the year 862. 
During his reigu the Danes landed at Southampton, and 
plundered the city of Winchester; but being met by the 
king’s forces shortly afterwards were defeated. They then 
hastily embarked and betook themselves to the isle ot Thanet, 
where a treaty of peace was made between them and the 
men of Kent. These pirates, by nightly excursions, broke 
the engagements of the treaty; upon which the Kentish 
men assembled and drove their enemies away. Ethelbert 
reigned, like his brother, for a period of live years only, 
when he was succeeded by his brother Ethelred. Ethelbert’s 
loss was much regretted by his people, who honourably in¬ 
terred him at Sherborne by the side of his brothers. 3 

ETHELRED. 

18. Ethelred ascended the throne in the year 807. Like 
the reigns of his brothers, Ethelred’s was distinguished by 
the invasions of the Danes. Like the other sons of Ethel- 
wulf, Ethelred possessed the daring necessary to stem the 
torrent of Danish invasion, if the qualities of one man, 
backed by the feeble efforts of a nation, could have obtained 
success. But this was not the case. The states which 
Egbert had subjugated had either shaken off the yoke of his 
successors, and w r ere engaged in a civil contest for supreme 
power, or were intent upon doing so. Instead of a united 
people, standing forth to repel the invasions of their common 
home, one district was overrun before the inhabitants of a 
second could understand that their policy as well as duty 
should have sent them to the assistance of their neighbours. 
Thus has England been repeatedly conquered piecemeal. 
Notwithstanding the terrible invasions of the Danes a great 


1 Henry of Huntingdon. See also W. of Malmesbury’s Chron., Hoyedon’s Annals, 
and A. S. Cliron. 

2 Asser’s Life of Alfred, 





THE SAXON PERIOD. 


47 


portion of the histories of the times is taken up with a rela¬ 
tion of the petty affairs of the several distracted states into 
which England was then divided. 2 

19. Ethelbert’s whole time was occupied in strengthen¬ 
ing the defences of his kingdom, and in fighting battles 
with the Danes. In his efforts he was assisted by his bro¬ 
ther Alfred, who was thus trained for the important part he 
was destined to play in the history of his country. Ethel- 
red is said to have personally engaged in conflicts with the 
Danes no less than nine times in one year—sometimes 
victorious, at others compelled to submit to defeat. 1 

20. The most celebrated battle that took place during 
the two last reigns was fought at Eschendun (Aston, in 
Berks, or Ashendon, in Bucks). The Saxon army engaged 
in two divisions under Ethelred and his brother Alfred. 
Ethelred was to attack the men under the Danish kings, and 
Alfred the men under the earls. Ethelred was engaged in 
pious devotion before encountering his enemies in the battle, 
and although informed by Alfred that the pagans were 
gaining ground, could not be prevailed upon to move to his 
support until his religious exercises were over ; these ended, 
falling upon the Danes, he routed them with great slaughter, 
notwithstanding that they had the advantage of selecting 
the best position for the battle. 3 4 After a life of constant 
fighting with enemies from abroad, and racked with anxiety 
on account of the miserable condition of his people at home, 
Ethelred expired in the year 872A 


1 W. of Malms. Chron. 

2 Ibid., A. S. Chron,, and Hovendon’s Annals. 

3 Asser’s Life of Alfred. 

4 W. of Malms. Chron.) IlovOndon’s Ann als, Roger of Wendover, Flowers Of 
History, Henry of Huntingdon’s Chron, 








48 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


I 


CHAPTER V. 

LITERARY CHARACTER OF THE ABOVE PERIOD. 

1. It will not be expected that a nation answering to the 
description given in the last chapter was an educated people. 
No, their intellectual acquirements were much inferior to 
the nation they subdued; and whilst the fugitive Britons in 
"Wales had their schools which produced learned men, who 
were ornaments to their age, Saxon England remained in 
intense darkness. Nevertheless, the Saxons appear to have 
brought with them a knowledge of letters. Their writings, 
however, were not in Roman characters. Their system of 
letters was the Runic, the signs employed by them being 
denominated Runes. These letters were not only used in 
the formation of words, but each letter bearing the name of 
some object was often substituted for the object itself. 
Thus F (A, or Ac, Oak) was often written instead of the 
word oak. 1 The inconvenient shape of these Runic letters, 
however, rendered their extensive use in writing objection¬ 
able, and, indeed, it may be remarked, that they had been 
chiefly used previously in inscriptions. 

2. Erom the above consideration, from the inconvenience 
attending the use of a second alphabet, and from the Roman 
abhorrence of everything connected with Saxon heathenism, 
the Roman missionaries, upon their arrival in England, sub¬ 
stituted the Roman characters for these ancient Runes. 
Nevertheless, traces of the Runic alphabet have been dis¬ 
covered in MSS. of the twelfth century. 2 The application 
of these Runes was often curious ; the letters of a person’s 
name, for instance, being taken consecutively and entered in 


1 Palgrave, 145. Bio. Brit. Lit. A. S. period, pp. 105, 502. 

2 Ibid. 







LITERARY CHARACTER OE THE SAXON PERIOD. 49 

the poem in Kunic characters. 1 “The heathen Teutons 
supposed that these letters possessed magical powers. Some 
Hunes, as they believed, could stop the vessel in her course, 
divert the arrow in its flight, cause love or hatred, raise the 
corpse from the grave, or cast the living into death-like 
slumber.” 2 The most opposite constructions have been put 
upon some of the discovered Bunic writings, and in many 
instances the inscriptions have baffled all the attempts of the 
learned to decipher. 3 

3. Notwithstanding the irruptions of the northern bar¬ 
barians of the continent of Europe upon the southern and 
more civilized parts, learning made some progress there 
during the fifth century, especially in the east. Schools 
were erected at Borne, Constantinople, Marseilles, Edessa, 
Nisibis, Carthage, Lyons, and Treves, and indeed there were 
public schools in almost every city. Moreover, men were 
set apart for the special instruction of students, whilst the 
monks and bishops continued to instruct the youths intended 
for their own profession. The students of physic, and 
chemistry, and law, could find suitable instructors at Bery- 
tus, or Alexandria. A knowledge of the seven liberal arts 
was open to all who would take the trouble, and could find 
the pecuniary resources to acquire it. The instruction given 
in the public schools in the east was far superior to that 
offered in the monasteries, or in the palaces of the bishops, in 
the west, we may rest assured. The motives for furnishing 
it were different, the time for its communication longer, and 
rendered more appropriate, and the instructors more compe¬ 
tent. The picture we possess of monastic education is by 
no means flattering. Thus Mosheim writes of the learning 
in the west during this period: “ monks taught the seven 
liberal arts; but these, as we learn from Augustine’s account 
of them, consisted only of a certain number of dry, subtile, 
and useless precepts, and were consequently more adapted 
to load and perplex the memory than to improve and 
strengthen the judgment. So that towards the close of this 
century the sciences were almost totally extinguished; at 


1 Bio. Brit. lib. A. S. period, p. 502. 

2 Palgrave, 115. 

3 Ibid. 

E 



50 


ENGLAND BEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


least what remained of them was no more than a shadowy 

mf 

form, without either solidity or consistence.” 1 2 

4. The invasions of Visigoths and Ostrogoths on the 
continent were highly unfavourable to the progress of 
learning iD Europe in the sixth century. In the west, in¬ 
deed, its total extinction was only prevented by the monks, 
who were compelled to study and to teach,—and by the 
bishops, who either themselves taught in their respective 
palaces, or appointed teachers in their stead. To every 
cathedral church, indeed, a school was attached, and learning 
thus encouraged. 3 ; whilst in these schools libraries were 
formed, as well as in the monasteries. The amount of know- 
ledged conveyed in these schools and monasteries appears to 
have been meagre in the extreme. The sciences w r ere badly 
taught by indolent or incapable monks, the noble language 
of Greece neglected, whilst the Latin scholar spent his time 
in quibbles. 3 * * In the east, although the schools of Athens 
and Alexandria flourished, yet learning appeared to be upon 
the decline in this century ; yet its state w 7 as more hopeful 
here than in the west. In Britain all was darkness and 
confusion. The pagan Saxons were to be converted to 
Christianity before a spark of learning could be perceived. 

5. The history of the introduction of Christianity among 
the Saxons is become too familiar to every schoolboy to need 
repetition here. The facts relating to Gregory and the 
Saxon slaves—his sympathy and beuevolence—have been 
indelibly fixed upon the memory. The accounts of Augustine 
and his brother missionaries, their perils and success, have 
excited the interest, if not the admiration, of all. 4 They 
not only reformed the machinery for exchanging thought, 
but gave a stimulus to literary progress. Not a book pro¬ 
bably existed in England at the time of their arrival, 
Augustine brought with him a few of these valuable articles, 


1 Eccles. Hist.., vol. ii, p. 18. 

2 Ibid, vol. ii, p. 106. 

3 Ibid. 

4 Thierry gives a rather different version of the steps taken by Gregory to intro¬ 
duce Christianity into Britain to the commonly received accounts. He says that 

Gregory ordered the Roman slave-markets to be searched for Anglo-Saxon youths of 

seventeen or eighteen years of age, and that the youths thus obtained were converted 

and prepared for missionary labours in England; that the scheme, however, failed, 
and Gregory in consequence sent Augustine and other monks over.—History of the 
Norman Conquest, lib, i, p, 2. (Whittaker’s edition.) 




LITERARY CHARACTER OE THE SAXON PERIOD. 51 

and this stock was increased by the liberality of the pope. 1 
Thus not only was religion introduced into England by the 
Eoman missionaries; but learning, the true handmaid of 
our system of enlightened faith, encouraged. Thenceforth 
there appeared an occasional architect laying the basis of 
Anglo-Saxon literature. Heathen customs gradually dis¬ 
appeared, and a more rational, because a more intellectual, 
course was manifested. Britain could once more boast of 
educational institutions, maintain scholars, and transmit to 
posterity some of the results of their labours. These results, 
however, were not immediately perceptible—ages passed ere 
the magnitude of the changes then in operation could be 
fully appreciated. The present day beholds the development 
which was then commenced. 

6. The Saxons having passed the fifth and sixth centuries 
in pagan darkness and barbarian ignorance, w'e reflect 
with pleasure upon the introduction of Christianity as 
a period whence we are to anticipate a better order of things. 
The year 597, a.d., 2 is memorable in English annals as the 
date of Augustine’s arrival in England. Every effort was 
made by the zealous missionary to propagate the gospel, and 
not without considerable success. Many assistants came 
over from Borne to his aid. Bishops were soon consecrated 
by him, 3 and a new Christian province announced. We at 
length obtain some positive information, illustrating the 
effects which religion had upon education at this early period. 

7. In the year 635, a.d., JSigebert ascended the throne 
of East Anglia, upon the death of his brother, Earpwald, the 
late sovereign. fSigebert had been living an exile in Erance 
for some time, having fled there through fear of Bedwald, 
Earpwald’s predecessor. He did not reside there, however, 
without jealously noticing the superior literary condition of 
that country. CJpon his return to England, and assuming 
the sovereignty of East Anglia, he became a great practical 
reformer. Learned men found in him a powerful patron, 
and in his court a sure place of refuge. 4 Bede informs us 5 
that upon liis return “ being desirous to imitate the good 


1 Bede, lib. i, c. 29. 

2 Anglo-Saxon Chron. 

3 Bede, lib. i, c. 29. 

4 Bede’s Hist, Eng., lib, iii, c, 18, 19. 

5 Ibid, 



52 


ENGLAND BEFOBE THE CONQUEST. 


institutions which he had seen in France, he set up a school 
for youths to be instructed in literature,” and was assisted 
therein by bishop Felix, who came to him from Kent, 
and who furnished him with masters and teachers after the 
manner of that country. 

7. This was a great step, but it was soon followed by 
another whose importance threw the former into obscurity. 
About the year a.d. 668, the English archbishop, Wighard, 
successor of Deusdeuit, died at Home, whither he had pro¬ 
ceeded that his appointment to the archbishopric might be 
confirmed by the pope. Adrian, an African, and abbot of a 
monastery near Naples, was then offered the primacy. He 
declined the honour, however, though offered to him more 
than once; but recommended, after having been a second 
time applied to, Theodore, a learned monk at Koine, but a 
native of Tarsus, to the vacant office. Upon the appoint¬ 
ment of Theodore to the primacy, Adrian agreed to accom¬ 
pany him to England, and upon his arrival here was imme¬ 
diately appointed, by the archbishop, to the monastery of St. 
Peter of Canterbury, where he lived for thirty-nine years. 1 
“ Nothing could be more fortunate for the Anglo-Saxon 
literature than the settlement of those men in England,” 
remarks Turner; “ both 'were well versed in sacred and pro¬ 
fane literature, and thoroughly acquainted with the Greek 
and Latin languages. Both were animated with the greatest 
zeal for the welfare of the people over whom they were 
called upon to preside.” They soon obtained a world-wide 
reputation in consequence of their literary attainments. 
Perhaps Adrian’s fame predominated. His disinterested¬ 
ness in refusing the archbishopric, although repeatedly 
pressed upon him—his zeal and his learning—all contributed 
alike to exalt his character. William of Malmesbury even 
termed him “ a fountain of letters and a river of arts.” The 
conversation and exhortations of these good men proved ex¬ 
cellent stimuli at this dark period, and excited among the 
Anglo-Saxons a great emulation in literary studies. A 
crowd of pupils soon gathered round them, “ and there daily 
flowed from them rivers of knowledge to water the hearts 
of their hearers; and, together with the books of holy writ, 


1 Bede’s Hist. Eng., lib. iv, c. 1. 



LITERARY CHARACTER OF THE SAXON PERIOD. 53 

they also taught them the arts of ecclesiastical poetry, 
astronomy, and arithmetic.” 1 They obtained a reward 
which the zealous do not always realize. The fruits of their 
labours became manifest to themselves. Their success was 
proportioned to their exertions. Many of their pupils, we 
are informed, were as well versed in the Greek and Latin 
tongue as in their own native language. 2 Ere a centurv had 
elapsed from Augustine’s arrival the state of society in 
England had greatly changed. A desire for learning had 
arisen in the minds of a few. England could again boast of 
schools and scholars. Paganism had received its death-blow 
in the island, and a fervent zeal for religion had widely 
spread. The sabbath day once more attained its wonted 
reverence, to the great temporal as well as spiritual comfort 
of the people. 3 

8. It will not be uninteresting to notice the subjects of 
study during the seventh century. Our information on this 
head is singularly satisfactory. We have the authority of 
the venerable Bede, as well as that of the celebrated student 
Aldhelm himself. Eirst with regard to Bede’s information. 
When speaking of the acts of Sigebert, before referred to, 
he inserts a long account of a holy man, named Eursey, who, 
coming from Ireland, was received by the king, and spent a 
large portion of the remainder of his life in instructing the 
English people in the principles 4 of Christianity. Religion, 
being of primary importance, was the subject in which the 
many received instruction. We also learn from Bede, as 
has been before remarked, that Theodore and Adrian in¬ 
structed their pupils in the books of holy writ; they also 
taught them ecclesiastical poetry, astronomy and arithmetic ; 
whilst the Greek and Latin languages were subjects of the 
most particular study. 5 

9. The testimony of Aldhelm is equally precise. In a 
letter written to the bishop of Winchester, which is 
still preserved in “ Anglia Sacra,” he informs us that he 
was at the time of writing the letter engaged in studying 
Roman jurisprudence, the art of poetry, arithmetic, astro- 


1 Bede’s Hist. Eng., lib. iv, c. 2. 

2 Ibid. 

3 Bede’s Hist. Eng — Palgrave’s Hist. A. Saxons, p. 68. 

4 Bede’s Hist. Eng., lib. i, c. 19. 

5 Bede, lib. iv, c. 2. 


/ 



54 


ENGLAND 13EE0RE THE CONQUEST. 


nomy, and astrology. Although geography is not mentioned 
in the preceding list, that subject was doubtless investigated 
according to the imperfect state of knowledge which then 
prevailed in relation to it. Thus not only were the elemen¬ 
tary subjects studied at this early period, but the higher 
branches of learning also. 

10. Concerning the character of the seminaries of learn¬ 
ing which then existed we know very little. At Canterbury 
there certainly was a school: in East Anglia, as we have 
before remarked, there was another. Whether there were 
schools at Oxford or Cambridge at this period we have no 
means of ascertaining. In the different monasteries estab¬ 
lished there were doubtless schools, but no particulars re¬ 
specting them have reached us. 1 

11. During this century the prospects of the Britons 
grew gradually worse. Driven, as they had been, amongst 
the mountains on the western side of England, they, in these 
inaccessible retreats, made their power to be felt by joining 
any of the disaffected Saxons against their rulers, allying 
themselves to any new invading army, and, in short, taking 
every opportunity to annoy the plunderers of their homes. 
These continually harassing attacks, however, brought down 
upon them the furious wrath of the different Saxon tribes, 
who, uniting, whenever they could forget their rival ani¬ 
mosities, took signal vengeance upon the unhappy remnant 
of the British race. 

12. I have before had occasion to mention the monastery 
of Bangor, in Wales. This, for a long period of time, was 
the university of the kingdom. Here was to be found a most 
valuable library, and scholars capable of wisely using 
it. The commencement of this century, however, witnessed 
its destruction. Etheifrid, king of Northumberland, 
marched to Chester, a.d. 607, 2 and took possession of the 
city, slaying great numbers of monks, who had assembled 
there to pray for the safety of the place. 3 The enraged 
Saxon prince then marched to Bangor, from whence these 
monks had come, destroyed the monastery and burnt its 


1 Henry’s Hist. Eng., vol. iv, lib. ii, c. 4. 

2 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 

3 According to the A. S. Chron. two hundred were slain. Bede states that there 
were twelve hundred. (Hist. Eng., lib. ii, c. 2.) 



LITERARY CHARACTER OE THE SAXON PERIOD. 


OO 


valuable library. 1 Thus perished, by the ruthless hands of 
barbarians, another library which the industry of ages had 
been employed in collecting. 2 

13. So great a blow to the literary progress of a nation 
could not have been easily overcome, yet Wales still afforded 
a shelter to the learned, and the countenance of princes was 
extended towards them. But a few years after the destruc¬ 
tion of the above monastery we find that the court of Cad- 
wallon, the king of North Wales, was deemed a suitable 
place for the instruction of Edwin, the heir apparent to the 
crown of Northumberland. The learned men surrounding 
Cadwallon at this period were probably refugees from the 
monastery at Bangor. The chequered career of the kingdom 
of Wales during the remainder of the century was most un¬ 
favourable to learning, and we therefore hear little more 
respecting matters of this description. 

14. If to the British antiquary there be unpleasant remi¬ 
niscences connected with the commencement of the seventh 
century, in consequence of the destruction of such antiquities 
as Bangor must have possessed at that period, the history of 
the latter part of the century is calculated in some measure 
to cheer him. If a library was lost, libraries were also 
founded. Theodore brought with him a store of books, 
which was doubtless carefully deposited in the monastery of 
Canterbury with the companions brought here by Augustine; 
and no doubt the library was as carefully increased as oppor¬ 
tunities presented themselves. But Benedict Biscop made 
the most important progress in the formation of a library in 
this century. Several times did this zealous scholar journey 
to Eome to obtain books for his monastery at Wearmouth, 
and never returned empty-handed. 3 Neither money nor 
time was spared by him in making his collection. Books 
were then only obtained at an enormous cost, and were lent 
by the principal of one convent to another for the purpose 
of transcribing only under the strictest regulations, yet their 
number rapidly increased. 

15. A very few words will describe the state of learning 


1 Warrington’s Hist, of Wales, vol. i, p. 130. 

2 Some place the date of the destruction of the monastery of Bangor in the 
year 613. 

3 See chap. 14, Article Benedict Biscop. 




56 


ENGLAND BEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


on the continent during this period. In the east it miserably 
declined. In the west it was almost entirely in the hands of 
the monks, and although no abbot was allowed to be elected 
who had not at least the reputation of being a learned man, 
yet as his character was to be judged by those whose educa¬ 
tion was of a mean order, the standard was necessarily low. 
One regulation of the monks, however, must not pass un¬ 
noticed here, so excellent was it in principle, that had it been 
zealously carried out learning could not have been long 
destitute of honourable names. The monks were required 
to consecrate a certain portion of their time daily to study 
and reading. Certain hours were appointed for them to com¬ 
municate to each other the results of their study , and to discuss 
what they had been reading. 1 Such a regulation needed but 
enforcement under the guidance of able men to have pro¬ 
duced the most beneficial effects. But it was probably in 
most cases evaded. Where enforced it lost much of its use¬ 
fulness from the trifling character of the reading enjoined. 
Not even the Bible in its purity could occupy the attention 
of the students; but the fabled miracles of saints took up 
the greater part of their time. 

16. During the eighth century learning declined on the 
continent, whilst in Britain and Ireland, on the contrary, it 
flourished. Among the Greeks there were but trivial 
writers, whilst on our island flourished such men as 
Aldhelm, Bede, and Alcuin. Towards the close of the 
century the efforts of Charlemagne to improve the literary 
condition of Trance, as well as to increase its territories, 
mark a new era. That monarch invited learned men to 
Trance, and rendered his court attractive by the rewards he 
offered to them. Then it was that the Palantine school was 
established there, where the great men of his empire might 
have their sons educated. To have studied the trivium and 
quadrivium then was a point of distinction. To have 
mastered the works of Cassiodorus and Boethius was to have 
obtained the goal of human distinction. 2 

17. We now pass on briefly to notice the progress of 
learning in Britain in the eighth century. The fruits of the 
labours of Theodore and Adrian now made their appeal ance. 


1 Mosheim’s Eccles. Hist., vol. ii, p. 165, et passim. 

2 Moskeim’s Eccles. Hist., vol. ii, p. 217, et passim. 



LITEEAEY CHAEACTEE OF THE SAXOH PEEIOD. 


57 


The close of the seventh century, and the commencement of 
the eighth, were doubtless the periods thus referred to by 
Alfred in his letters to the bishop of London: “ I must in¬ 
form you, my dear friend, that I often revolve in my mind 
the many learned and wise men, who formerly flourished in 
the English nation, both among the clergy and laity. How 
happy were those times ! Then the princes governed their 
subjects with great wisdom, according to the word of God, 
and became famous for their wise and upright administration. 
Then the clergy were equally diligent in reading, studying, 
and teaching ; and this country was so famous for learning, 
that many came hither from loreign parts to be instructed. 
Then (before all was spoiled and burned) the churches and 
monasteries were filled with libraries of excellent books in 
several languages.” 1 

19. The former part of the eighth century was illumina¬ 
ted by those brilliant characters, Egwin of Worcester, the 
celebrated founder of Evesham abbey; Eddius Stephanus, 
John of Beverley, Tobias, bishop of Kochester, Ceolfrid, the 
friend of Benedict Biscop, Egbert, Eadfrith, Berctwald, 
Tatwine, Eelix, Wilbrord, Bede, Acca, Albinus, Nothelm, 
Daniel, Ethelwald, Eorthhere, Hwebert, Plegwin, Withtred, 
and Cuthbert. Whilst in the latter part of the century 
flourished Egbert of York, Boniface, Willibald, Willehad, 
and Alcuin. 2 

20. During this period there was of course nothing like 
intellectual education in the true acceptation of the term. 
Even the instruction then attempted to be communicated was 
most rudimental in character, and often in substance absurd 
and the methods employed in teaching appear to have been 
most imperfect. Turner has given us a specimen of the 
Socratic mode of instruction in those days. How inferior is 
it to the specimens of the teaching of Socrates which we 
possess. The scholar questions thus: “ What is a letter? 
The keeper of history. What is a word ? The betrayer of 
the mind. What is air? The preserver of life. What is 
man ? The slave of death; a transient traveller; a local 
guest. What is man like ? An apple. How is man placed ? 

1 Henry’s Hist, of Britain, vol. iv, p. 24. 

2 This list of names is extracted from the Bio. Brit. Lib., where a particular 
account of each of them may be seen. The chief of them will be noticed in the last 
chapter of this work. 




58 


ENGLAND BEFOKE THE CONQUEST. 


Asa lamp in the wind. Where is he placed P Between sis 
walls. What? Above, below, before, behind, on the right 
hand and on the left. How many companions has he ? 
Eour. Whom ? Heat, cold, dryness, wet. In how many 
ways is he changeable ? Six. Which are they ? Hunger, 
fulness, rest, labour, watchings, and sleep. Who is that 
whom you cannot see unless you shut your eyes ? He who 
sneezes will shew him to you. I saw a man with eight in 
his hand; he took away seven and six remained ? School¬ 
boys know this. How can a thing be, yet not exist ? In 
name and not in fact.” These specimens will be sufficient 
to show the uselessness and even absurdity of some portions 
of their instruction, the unsoundness, or the involved char¬ 
acter of others, and the poetical style of all. We perceive, 
however, by this specimen that useful instruction was 
attempted to be conveyed. Grammar, rhetoric, poetry, 
astronomy, and natural history were all encouraged; the 
character of the instruction in which will appear from the 
brief but just remark of Hallam. 1 2 “ The arithmetic of Cas- 
siodorus 3 (or Capella, a chief authority of the time) occupies 
little more than two folio pages, and does not contain one 
word of the common rules. The geometry is much the 
same; in two pages we have some definitions and axioms, 
but nothing further. His logic is longer and better, ex¬ 
tending to sixteen folio pages. The grammar is very short 
and trifling. The rhetoric is the same.” Learning was 
confined to the priests, or clerks as they were termed, and 
they wrote a wretched Latin. Their attention, however, 
was particularly directed to church music, even at this early 
period, and we find Grimbald invited over from Bheims in 
consequence of his skill in musical science. The most 
powerful noblemen, or even kings, were unable to sign their 
own names. “ If a man could write, or even read, his know¬ 
ledge was considered as proof presumptive that he was in 
holy orders.” What a melancholy picture! How mar- 


1 Literary History of Europe, vol. i, p. 3, note. 

2 Cassiodorus was born at SquiUace, in Naples, a.d. 470; became secretary of 

state to Theodoric, king of the Goths, and consul, a.d. 514. He was in great credit 
in the reigns of Atkalaric and Vitiges. At the age of seventy he retired to a monas¬ 
tery in Calabria, where he constructed sun-dials, water hour-glasses, and perpetual 
lamps. He wrote on “Divine Institutions,” “A Treatise on the Soul,” &c. -Cyclo¬ 
paedia Britan. 







LITERARY CHARACTER OF THE SAXON PERIOD. 


59 


vellously have times changed! Then the ability to write or 
even read was the exception—now the rule. But what con¬ 
stituted superiority in those days when intellectual develop¬ 
ment remained almost upon an equality among all classes ? 
The distinctions were perhaps as artificial then as now. The 
pride of descent and of aristocratic connections was even then 
manifested ; natural and improved ability as much respected ; 
and wealth as unequally diffused. Hengist gloried in his 
descent from Woden. (Subsequently Dunstan’s elevation 
was the result of his various acquirements, and the high 
natural order of his mind; and Godwin’s immense posses¬ 
sions armed him with kingly power. 

21. The utility of letters was then by no means appa¬ 
rent. Commerce was carried on principally by truck or 
barter, or by payments in ready money. Simplicity marked 
every transaction. “ When land was sold, the owner cut a 
turf from the green sward and cast it into the lap of the 
purchaser, as a token that the possession of the earth was 
transferred; or he tore off a branch of a tree, and put it 
in the hand of the grantee, to show that the latter was to be 

• entitled to the products of the soil. And when the purchaser 
of a house received seizen , or possession, the key of the door, 
or a bundle of thatch plundered from the roof, signified that 
the dwelling had been yielded up to him. These symbols 
were sometimes varied by the fancy of the grantor. One 
delivered a knife with a hair of his beard, another a glove, 
a third a currycomb, a fourth a drinking-horn.” 1 The 
usages of civilized life, extended commerce, varied trans¬ 
actions, and the requirements of society, induce intellectual 
improvement. Extended demands produce improved ma¬ 
chinery, and the simple wants of childhood are displaced by 
the serious requirements of advanced age. In all this there 
is progression. Human nature is endowed with the property 
of development. 

22. The impediments to general book-learning in that 
rude age, even had the inclination to study existed, would 
have been immense. When the manufacture of paper and 
the invention of printing were among the things to be, no 
very general advance in scientific pursuits could be expected. 


1 Palgrave’s Hist, of Eng. A. S. period, p. 151, 



60 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


Though the classical authors of Greece and Rome have im¬ 
mortalized their country by the imperishable lustre of their 
names without the art of printing, yet it must be borne in 
mind that the learning of the age was monopolized by the 
privileged few. “ Philosophy taught that while the few 
should be instructed, it was necessary to withhold instruc¬ 
tion from the multitude.” 1 Orally the Anglo-Saxons were 
taught some poetic strains, to stimulate them in the dis¬ 
charge of their martial duties, or elevate them in their 
banqueting halls. But this was not the general character of 
the Anglo-Saxon themes. “ Some such poetry, the only 
kind that was known among their neighbours, they unques¬ 
tionably had; but other subjects and other styles of compo¬ 
sition soon displaced it.” 

23. “ While the Saxons contended with the Britons for 
the sovereignty of the land, learning was banished, or fled of 
its own accord-” As soon, however, as they became free 
from internal dissensions, had submitted to one ruler, and 
had, moreover, delivered themselves from external enemies, 
the work of education commenced. True the tide ebbed and 
flowed—now without a glimmer to denote the existence of 
the spark of life, and now reinvigorated by the patronage of 
an Alfred, or the learning of a Bede. Yet educational 
efforts progressed, and, reared upon the basis of Anglo-Saxon 
institutions and Anglo-Saxon literature, England at the 
present day offers an educational model, if not in itself 
perfect, yet in many points of view deserving of the highest 
admiration. 

24. There is little to cheer our minds whilst studying 
the literary or social condition of the people of this country 
during the period we have been considering. The mass of 
the people still remained in a state of the most profound 
ignorance. Their minds were governed by the most ridicu¬ 
lous fancies of superstition. The most learned portion of 
the community—the priesthood—imposed upon their flocks 
by the narration of the most extraordinary miracles, and 
seem even to have induced themselves to believe that mi¬ 
raculous powers were vested in them. The history of their 
battles becomes monotonous, and even tame, not only from 


1 Farr. 



LITERARY CHARACTER OF THE SAXON PERIOD. 


61 


the frequency of their occurrence but from the absence of 
every particle of information, or indication of progress, which 
might tend to instruct and elevate a reader. 

25. The histories of personages of the smallest absolute 
importance, if compared with the attainments of a modern 
school-boy, have been studied with earnestness, and the 
most minute circumstances of their lives investigated with 
the utmost labour, if haply some new ray of light might 1 e 
discovered among them, or some fresh tittle of information 
gained respecting their manners, customs, religion, or litera¬ 
ture. 



02 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


CHAPTER VI. 

THE REIGN OF ALFRED. 

1. The importance of Alfred’s reign seems to demand a 
separate chapter; for daring this period the banners of the 
raven floated triumphantly on'the embattlements of England’s 
castles, defying the efforts of the Saxons, and presaging the 
period when the Saxon people should be compelled to own 
the Danes’ undisputed sway. This was the period when 
England’s monasteries could boast of a most valuable col¬ 
lection of books, original and transcribed: but it was also 
the period wdien those books w^ere committed to the flames 
by the rude hands of northern barbarians: when literature 
decayed, and the learned deserted their distressed country 
for a more peaceful abode on a foreign shore. This also was 
the period of the revival of learning, when, stimulated by the 
patronising hands of the sovereign, the seed, once again sown 
in a more congenial soil, germinated and produced fruits, 
the effects of which remain visible to the present day. This 
was the era when learning in England was at its lowest ebb, 
and this also was the period when it received a re-animation, 
which though momentarily checked by the indolence or 
troubles of succeeding monarchs, yet never wholly dis¬ 
appeared. 

2. Alfred, the youngest son of Etlielwulf and Osberga, 
was born at Wantage in Berkshire, in the year 849. 1 His 
genealogy is thus amusingly traced by his biographer. 
“ King Alfred was the son of king Etliulwulf, who was the 
son of Egbert, who was the son of Elmund, who was the son 
of Eafa, who was the son of Eoppa, who was the son of 
Ingild. Ingild and Ina, the two famous kings of the West 


1 Asser’s Life of Alfred the Great. 



ALFRED. 


G3 


Saxons, were two brothers. Ina went to Rome, and there 
ending this life honourably, entered the heavenly kingdom, 
to reign there for ever with Christ. Ingild and Ina were 
the sons of Coenred, who was the son of Ceolwald, who was 
the son of Cudam, who was the son of Cuthwin, who was 
the son of Ceawlin, who was the son of Cynric, who was the 
son of Creoda, who was the son of Cerdic, who was the son 
of Elesa, who was the son of Gfewis, from whom the Britons 
name all that nation Gegwis, 1 w r ho was the son of Brond, 
who was the son of Beldeg, who was the son of Woden, who 
was the son of Erithowald, who was the son of Erelaf, who 
was the son of Rrithuwulf, who was the son of Einn of 

Godwulf, who was the son of Geat. Geat was the 

son of Tsetwa, who was the son of Beaw, who was the son 
of Sceldi, who was the son of Heremode, who was the son 
of Itermon, who was the son of Hathra, who was the son of 
Guala, who was the son of Bed wig, who was the son of 
Shem, who was the son of Noah, who was the son of Enoch, 
who was the son of Malaleel, who was the son of Cainan, 
who was the son of Enos, who w T as the son of Seth, who 
was the son of Adam.” 

3. Alfred appears to have had a prepossessing appear¬ 
ance, and, inheriting the privilege of younger children, won 
the particular affection of his father Ethelwulf, who sent him 
to Rome when but four years of age with a noble escort, 
there to be presented to the pope. 2 Alfred appears to have 
returned home again after a very short residence with the 
“ Holy Eather,” for in the year 855 he revisited the eternal 
city in company with his father, who remained there a year. 
Ethelwulf probably left the young Alfred at Rome, where 
he must have stayed for some length of time, for we read in 
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 3 that when the pope heard that 
Ethelwulf was dead, (which event took place two years after 
his return from Rome) he anointed Alfred king. 

4. What little we know of his early life is gathered from 
his biographer, Asser, In his history we have many diffi- 


1 West Saxons. 

2 A. S. Chron., sub. an. 853. 

3 It is said, and indeed it appears probable, that Ethelwulf designed Alfred to be 
his successor, and if such was his idea it was doubtless made known to the pope, 
which will account for the pope’s anointing him to be king.—See Turner’s Hist. An. 
Sax., vol. i, p. 420, 429, 




64 


ENGLAND BEFOBE THE CONQUEST. 


culties to reconcile, which in the absence of authentic infor¬ 
mation, can only be attempted by conjecture. Thus he 
informs us that Alfred, by the unworthy neglect of his 
parents and nurses, remained illiterate (illiteratus permansit) 
even till he was twelve years old or more; yet in the same 
paragraph he says that “he (Alfred) was loved by his father 
and mother, and even by all the people, above all his brothers, 
and was educated altogether at the court of the king. Ashe 
advanced through the years of infancy and youth, his form 
appeared more comely than that of his brothers ; in looks, in 
speech, and in manners he was more graceful than they. 
His noble nature implanted in him from his cradle a love of 
wisdom above all things : he listened with serious attention 
to the Saxon poems which he often heard recited, and easily 
retained them in his docile memory. He was a zealous 
practiser of hunting in all its branches, and with great 
assiduity and success; for skill and good fortune in this art, 
as in all others, are among the gifts of Grod, as we also have 
often witnessed.” 1 Had Asser omitted the remark respect¬ 
ing Alfred’s ignorance we could readily have surmised that 
his instruction had not been altogether neglected in his 
father’s house—that whilst at Home he admired what other 
children might have neglected—and that he returned home 
as well educated a boy as any of his own age and generation. 
So totally at variance does the remark seem with the other 
portions of the paragraph, and the subsequent history of 
Alfred, that I cannot resist the conviction that it is an in¬ 
terpolation, or at least a corrupted passage. Asser informs 
us that his mother shewed him and his brothers a volume of 
beautifully illuminated Saxon poetry, promising to give it to 
him who should first master the book, and that Alfred 
carried off the prize. This event has been attributed to the 
period after his father’s marriage with Judith, and his 
mother, in the text explained to be his step-mother. There 
seems no necessity, however, for such a change; for in the 
first place we have no evidence of his return to England 
until a period when neither himself nor his brother would 
be so likely to compete for such an illuminated prize as at the 
earlier age of five or six, when his own mother might have 


1 Asser’s Life of Alfred. 




ALFRED. 


65 


been still alive : l and secondly, there seems to be no neces¬ 
sity for supposing that Alfred could read the book except by 
learning it by rote, which he might easily have done at the 
age of six. That Alfred’s subsequent education was neg¬ 
lected we learn from his own words, which are confirmed by 
a knowledge of the character of the times in which he lived. 
Asser informs us that Alfred confessed with many lamenta¬ 
tions and sighs that “ one of his greatest difficulties and im¬ 
pediments in this life was that when he was young and had 
the capacity for learning he could not find teachers.” And 
we learn from Alfred’s preface to his translation of Gregory’s 
“ Pastorale,” that at his accession to the throne he did not 
know a person south of the Thames who understood the 
service in English, or could translate a Latin sentence. 

4. Alfred’s name does not appear in connection with the 
general history of his country until the reign of his brother 
Ethelred, when he appears to have been actively engaged in 
repelling the invasions of the Danes. In the year 868 he 
married a daughter of the earl of the Gaini (inhabitants of 
Gainsborough). He at this time occupied but a subordinate 
station. 2 In the same year we learn that the king of Mercia 
begged the assistance of Ethelred and his brother Alfred in 
his contests with the Danes, and thenceforward we find 
Alfred fighting side by side with his brother against the same 
barbarians. 3 At length, in the year 871, Alfred was, upon 
the death of his brother Ethelred, elevated to the throne of 
Wessex. Scarcely a month had elapsed after his accession 
when he was called upon to fight with the Danes at Wilton, 
and for a period of eight or nine years afterwards his life 
was a perpetual struggle with these northern pirates. 

5. The early part of Alfred’s reign was not only disturbed 
by the invasions of the Danes, but was also affected by his 
own imprudence; for Asser informs us that “ in the begin- 
ing of his reign, when he was a youth, and influenced by 
youthful feelings, he would not listen to the petitions which 
his subjects made to him for help in their necessities, or for 


1 I am aware that it has been asserted that his own mother was repudiated, and 
that himself and brothers took refuge with her: but I can discover no just ground 
for such an assertion. 

2 Asser. 

3 Ibid.—A. S. Chron., sub, an. 868. 



66 


ENGLAND EEFOEE THE CONQUEST. 


relief from those who oppressed them,—but he repulsed 
them from him, and paid no heed to their requests.” In 
this very untoward circumstance we perceive one of those 
incidents which tended to surname Alfred “ the Great ;” for 
by it he was led to see how important to a sovereign is the 
affection of his subjects, and that whilst firm discipline is 
essential to good order, contempt of tbe reasonable requests 
and complaints of the subjects induces difficulties of the 
most formidable description. Alfred’s neglect of the 
petitions of his subjects was retaliated by them in a general 
defection in the hour of extreme peril, and the victorious 
Alfred was at length compelled to succumb to the ferocious 
attacks of the Danes, and hide himself in the woody glens of 
Athelney. Many romantic stories are told of him whilst in 
this situation—none of which have gained more general 
credence, perhaps, than the herdsman’s wife and the cakes. 
This tale, originating in Asser, is perpetuated in Hume, who 
asserts that it has been recorded by all the historians. 
Although possibly true, Hume is hardly correct when he 
makes the above assertion, for most of the old historians, as 
William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and the 
authors of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, are silent upon the 
subject,—whilst Koger of Wendover, and Matthew of West¬ 
minster, evidently following Asser, record it. We are also 
told that whilst on the isle he gave a portion of his last re¬ 
maining loaf to a poor Christian beggar,—that St. Cuthbert 
afterwards appeared to him in a vision, and promised him 
victory over his enemies and re-establishment upon the 
throne. 1 Soon after this, having made his subjects acquainted 
with his locality, and having previously made several im¬ 
portant sallies against the Danish outposts, he engaged the 
Danes in a great battle and completely defeated them. 2 
William of Malmesbury and Ingulph tell us that before the 
batt le he entered the Danish camp in the disguise of a minstrel, 
and having carefully observed the supineness of his enemies 
made his dispositions accordingly. This story, however, rests 
upon the sole authority of William ofMalmesbury and Ingulph. 
Guthrum was the leader of the Danes in the battle which fol¬ 
lowed, and having been overcome gave hostages to Alfred and 


1 Ingulph’s History of the Abbey of Croyland, p. 52. 

2 Asser.—A. S, Chron., sub. an. 878. 



ALFRED. 


67 


was baptized, Alfred becoming godfather to him. 1 After this 
victory Guthrum was put in possession of East Anglia, 
which he governed as a vassal of Alfred. 

6. After this defeat of the Danes Alfred enjoyed such a 
period of repose as he had not for many years previously done. 
Not that he was inactive, but he was comparatively free from 
the harassing attacks of his enemies. Now, he wisely con¬ 
sidered, was the time to improve the means at his disposal 
for the defence of hi3 kingdom. From, the nature and 
position of his country he had long perceived that the true 
means of defence would consist of “wooden walls,” and had 
accordingly laid the foundation of the British navy. Now 
he increased the number of his vessels, and improved their 
construction. 2 His efforts to improve the efficiency of the 
defence of his country was neither needless nor vain. His 
enemies at length returned in full force. In the year 882 3 
“ Alfred went out to sea with his ships, and fought against 
the forces of four ships of Danish men, and took two of the 
ships.” “In the year S85 4 he sent a fleet to East Anglia. 
So soon as they came to the mouth of the Stour, there met 
them sixteen ships of pirates; and they fought against them 
and captured all the ships and killed the men. As they 
afterwards returned homewards with the booty, a large fleet 
of pirates met them, and then fought against them that same 
day, and the Danish men had the victory.” In this manner 
were the ships engaged which Alfred had built. They must 
evidently have saved the English people from many hostile 
incursions of their enemies. 

7. The remnant of Guthrum’s army, which did not feel 
disposed to settle down in the East Anglian district, left the 
country and visited the neighbouring territory of France, 5 
“where,” in the words of William of Malmesbury, “the 
inhabitants are best able to tell what cruelties they perpe¬ 
trated. For overrunning the whole maritime coast to the 
Tuscan sea, they unpeopled Paris, Tours, as well as many 

1 Asser.—Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 

2 “ The vessels he built were galleys, generally rowed with oars, some even with 
sixty on each side, and were twice as long, deeper, swifter, and less ‘wavy,’ or 
rolling, than the ships of the Danes. These vessels were not so well adapted for 
commercial purposes as for warfare, they having accommodation for a large force, 
and affording room for fighting.”— The Shie ; its Origin and Progress, 

3 Anglo-Saxon Chron., sub, an, 882. 

4 Ibid, sub. an. 885. 

5 Ibid, sub, an. 800, 



68 


ENGLAND BEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


other cities seated on the Seine and Loire.” Thirteen years 
afterwards the Danes returned to the former scenes of their 
depredations, for in the year 893 1 two hundred and fifty 
ships landed at Linne-mouth, a port in the eastern part of 
Kent, and shortly afterwards, Hastings, with a fleet of eighty 
vessels, sailed up the Thames and constructed a port at 
Milton. This was indeed a most formidable invasion, and to 
a king of England inferior in ability to Alfred must have 
proved fatal. But notwithstanding the assistance rendered 
to these pirates by their countrymen settled in England, 
they soon experienced the difference between fighting an 
army without a leader, and one directed by the superior 
talents of Alfred. The king had not slumbered in security 
whilst his enemies were wasting other states, and weakening 
their own forces in the contest; but had, on the other hand, 
been preparing for the blow which might at any moment he 
well knew, be dealt out to himself. When the two divisions of 
the great army of the Danes arrived, therefore, Alfred was 
prepared to meet them. He threw himself between the two 
forces, hoping to bring them to an engagement; and when 
the Danes who had landed in Kent attempted to join their 
countrymen at Milton, he hotly pursued them and defeated 
them at Earnham, 2 upon which they returned to Essex and 
there intrenched themselves. The Northumbrian and East 
Anglian Danes now fitted out a fleet of one hundred and 
forty ships, and sent them to the south of England, where 
a portion of them besieged Exeter. Thither Alfred followed 
them, and drove them to their ships with great slaughter. 
Meanwhile the citizens of London, aided by the troops 
Alfred had left behind, attacked Hastings at Banfleet, 
routed his army, and took his wife and children prisoners, 
together with great booty. After this the Danes at Essex 
joined the forces of Hastings, marched up the Thames, and 
across to Butlington on the Severn. Here they were reduced 
by Alfred to a state of famine, and at length dispersed 
themselves as they best could. Their main power was now 
broken down: nevertheless they continued to harass Alfred 
for some time afterwards, but their attacks were often 
anticipated, and the booty taken by them often regained. 


1 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, sub. an. 893. 

2 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, sub. an. 894. 




ALFBED. 


69 


This was Alfred’s last great struggle. He died in the 
year 901. 

8. Having taken a succinct view of the history of Alfred 
in his youth, and in his struggles with the Danes, let us now 
glance at him in his character of lawgiver and politician; 
as a pupil and as a teacher; in his family; as a man and as 
a Christian. 

9. At the time when Alfred ascended the throne, the 
labours of Theodore, Adrian, and Bede had been well nigh 
forgotten, the dark night of ignorance eclipsing their mo¬ 
mentous labours. The few learned men that this country 
produced had been sent or enticed to other lands. Thus 
Offa had sent the learned Alcuin to the court of Charlemagne, 
where he became preceptor to the emperor, and was laden 
with honours. In the year 701 the learned Boniface de¬ 
serted his country and became archbishop of Mavence. 
Dungal and Clemens followed his example, whilst Joannes 
Scotus Erigena, an Irishman, devoted his talents to the 
benefit of the Erench, and thus were the British islands 
robbed of the brightest of their ornaments. The time had 
not yet arrived when scholars should find a home and patron¬ 
age in England not to be despised. 

10. At the period of Alfred’s accession to the throne, 
manuscripts were the only books attainable, and those only 
with vast difficulty and at an enormous cost. 1 He was from 
his youth passionately fond of poetry. He had listened to 
the minstrels, or Anglo-Saxon gleemen, with enraptured 
ears, catching their strains and bearing them in his memory. 
He soon manifested himself to be the friend of learning, 
and under his auspices the work progressed with astonishing 
rapidity. No sooner had he subdued his external enemies 
than the internal affairs of his kingdom engrossed his pri¬ 
mary attention. And a melancholy appearance did England 
then present. The devastations of the Danes had desolated 
every home. Learning had of course been banished from 


1 Bede informs us that Alfred gave to bishop Benedict as much land as eight 
ploughs could work in exchange for a single copy of Cosmography, or geographical 
description of the earth. The Saxon MSS. were so elaborately prepared, and em¬ 
bellished with such costly illuminations, that their value was thus enormously 
enhanced. Thus we are told that Wilfred ordered the four evangelists to be written, 
of purest gold, on purple-colored parchments, for the benefit of his soul, and he had 
$ case made for them of gold, adorned with precious stones.—Turner, p. 422. 



70 


ENGLAND BEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 


almost every mind ; self-preservation and the security of the 
kingdom having secured the attention of all. Alfred, how¬ 
ever, was no less a philanthropist than a warrior. His 
bowels yearned over his country’s degradation. In his 
prologue to “ The Pastorale,” he laments that England could 
not boast of the wise men it once possessed. He mourn¬ 
fully refers to the former happy state of England, its monas¬ 
teries, its scholars, and its books ; how formerly men were 
attracted by the fame of its learning, but how now learned 
men had to be invited from abroad. 

11. Alfred’s perseverance had surmounted his external 
difficulties, and, notwithstanding his chequered career, he 
was no mean scholar. He must communicate the blessings 
he had received to others. And soon did the advantages of 
his perseverance render themselves perceptible. He sought 
out the most learned of his subjects, and placed them in 
offices of trust. Werefrith, bishop of Worcester, was ordered 
to translate the Dialogue of pope Gregory and Peter from 
Latin into Saxon. Plegmund was made archbishop of 
Canterbury, and Ethelstan and Werewulf his priests and 
chaplains. 1 He invited learned foreigners to his kingdom, 
and secured to them his powerful patronage. Grimbald 
was brought from Bheims, in consequence of his skill in 
church music, and placed over the monastery at Winchester. 
John was sent for from Saxony, and made abbot of the 
monastery at Athelney. And Asser, a monk of St. David’s, 
was continually with him, assisting him in his studies and 
aiding him with his counsel. 2 Shaftesbury abbey was filled 
with nuns, and Alfred’s daughter, Ethelgiva, made abbess. 
Embassies were sent to him from foreign nations, which 
were alike gratifying to his vanity and significant of the 
respect in which he was held. Asser informs us, in inflated 
language, that they came to him from the Tyrrhenian sea to 
the farthest end of Ireland, and that the patriarch at Jerusa¬ 
lem sent him letters and presents. Pope Martin presented 
him with no small portion of the venerable cross on which 
our Lord Jesus Christ was suspended. Alfred sent mes¬ 
sengers also to other lands. Erequent journeys were under- 


1 Asser’s Life of Alfred. 

2 Asser.—W. of Malmesbury’s Chronicle 



ALFRED. 


71 


taken to Pome, to convey presents to the head of the church, 
and even to St. Thomas in India. Indeed, Sighelm, bishop 
of Sherborne, his ambassador, penetrated into India, and 
returned laden with precious gems and aromatic spices, 
which were of the highest value in those days. 1 Alfred 
also founded monasteries, and, as was before related, set over 
them the most learned men he could find. 2 

12. At his accession to the throne monasteries had been 
destroyed, the monks murdered, and the libraries burnt; 
and we are informed that not one priest in the district south 
of the Thames could interpret the Latin services read over 
in the churches. Fearful state of ignorance! Euthless 
Danes! How often has northern barbarism produced 
similar effects. 

13. Alfred not only invited learned foreigners to England, 
but handsomely provided for them while here. He gave 
a great stimulus to learning by founding a school for the 
education of his subjects, which has been considered the 
foundation of the University of Oxford. In this school 
books were read both in Latin and Saxon. 3 Assiduous in 
his own studies, he inspired those around him with energy. 
Anxious to promote the education of his own family, 4 and 
watchful of the direction their studies took, he was a bright 
example to his subjects. Scarcely, indeed, do we know 
whether to admire most his courage and military skill, his 
undaunted resolution in adversity, his humane feelings and 
generous actions as a warrior, his political sagacity as a 
legislator, his patriotic devotion to his country, his assiduous 
perseverance as a student, or his exemplary character as a 
husband, a father, and a man. Perhaps never man united 
these splendid qualities in so perfect a manner. Without 
displaying the military combinations of an Alexander or a 
Napoleon,—without rivalling the legislation of a Lycurgus, 
—without emulating the devotion of a Leonidas, he never¬ 
theless combined the qualities of these great men with others 


1 William of Malmesbury’s Chronicle. 

2 Asser. 

8 Asser. 

4 We are informed that Ethelwerd, his youngest son, was consigned to the public 
schools of learning, where, with the children of almost all the nobility of the country, 
and many also who were not noble, he prospered under the diligent care of his 
.teachers. 




72 ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 

more exalted; and if an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon 
eclipsed him in the magnitude of their martial exploits, so 
did they in their vices. The virtues of Alfred will be revered 
when the deeds of the former shall be remembered with 
abhorrence. 

14. It is remarkable that Alfred should have perceived 
at this period that the utility of education alone would not 
form a sufficient inducement to its general diffusion. He 
saw that its difficulties and remote advantages, the sacrifices 
and mental labours it demanded, would tend to deter the 
illiterate from readily embracing it. He, therefore, adopted 
the singular expedient of a compulsory system of education. 
Alfred required that “ before his nobles cultivated the arts 
adapted to manly strength, as hunting, they might make 
themselves acquainted with liberal knowledge.” This, in¬ 
deed, was a great step in advance of his age. Many of 
Alfred’s thanes, although advanced in years, were compelled 
to learn that they might discharge the duties of their offices 
satisfactorily. Tree landholders, possessed of two hides of 
land or more, were compelled to send their children to 
school; whilst those persons who were too old to learn to 
read, were required to send a son, kinsman, or servant to be 
educated, who may read to them. The result of this regula¬ 
tion was that the old nobles “ lamented with deep sighs in 
their inmost hearts that in their youth they had never 
attended to such studies, and they blessed the young men of 
our days who happily could be instructed in the liberal arts, 
whilst they execrated their own lot, that they had not 
learned these things in their youth, and now when they were 
old though wishing to learn they were unable.” 1 Though 
this last regulation may provoke a smile, it must be borne in 
mmd that we are speaking of England in the ninth century, 
when the country was in a state of profound darkness, and 
when extraordinary times demanded extraordinary measures, 
—when laws to be understood and rendered beneficial often 
bore the appearance of severity, as they required to be 
adapted to the peculiar circumstances of the people. 

15. But it was not by compulsory measures alone that 
Alfred expected to secure the objects of his wishes. He, 


1 Asser, 




ALERED. 


73. 

who himself possessed no trait of selfishness, knew too 
well the character of human nature to anticipate so much. 
To man’s ambition and interest did he alike appeal, tie 
rendered the preferments of the church and the high offices 
of the state open to men of decided talent. And though it 
is recorded of him that he made a bishop of his benefactor 
the neatherd, yet, if this really took place, it was doubtless 
because he knew of no one in his kingdom more efficient for 
the office; and that he was aware that the peasant might 
as readily become adapted for the office as those few who 
ought to have been qualified for it. 

16. We must not overlook the efforts made by Alfred to 
render the vernacular language of the country the medium 
for conveying the history of the past as well as the elevating 
effusions of poesy. Bede had written in the fashionable 
language of the age—Latin. 1 Alfred rendered his important 
work (the “Ecclesiastical History”) into Saxon for the 
benefit of his countrymen. The translations of the poetry of 
Boethius, and of several portions of scripture, were under¬ 
taken with a similar view. Thus was the use of Latin 
discouraged, and the Anglo-Saxon tongue correspondingly 
exalted. It is important to bear this point in mind; for 
when we reflect upon the efforts which were subsequently 
made to entirely efface the Saxon language, it is gratifying 
to know that the experienced judgment of Alfred had pre¬ 
viously discouraged such an idea, and had so early perceived 
how well the language was adapted to form a vestment for 
the thoughts of the masters of eloquence, and to become the 
medium of communication in the business of life. Connected 
on the one hand with the Celtic, through the Pelasgic stem, 
the English language yet bears a closer resemblance to the 
German, from its Teutonic origin. Though not possessing 
the homogeneousness or euphony of the Greek, or the 
flexibility of the Latin, the deficiency is perhaps compensated 
by its capability of receiving foreign terms to represent 
foreign ideas, and the power which it commands of passion¬ 
ately expressing exalted thought. Alfred earnestly recom- 


1 Although Bede’s principal work was written in Latin, he was not unmindful of 
the necessity of encouraging his mother tongue, and in providing the people with a 
translation of that best of books, the Bible, m their own native language. His last, 
moments were spent in finishing the translation of St. John’s gospel into the 
vernacular. 



74 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


mended the translation of “useful books into the Saxon 
language, so that all the youth of England, but more 
especially those who were of gentle kind and at ease in 
their circumstances, may be grounded in letters; for,” he 
observes, “ they cannot profit in any pursuit until they are 
well able to read English.” 1 “ Let those learn Latin after¬ 
wards, who will know more, and advance to a higher posi¬ 
tion.” 2 How appropriate is this advice even to Englishmen 
of the nineteenth century. 3 

17. Whilst Alfred was laying the foundation of Anglo- 
Saxon learning, he was at the same time not unmindful of 
mechanics, agriculture, and the fine arts. Manufactures 
were improved, agricultural operations encouraged, and the 
building of monasteries, cities, and castles prosecuted with 
extreme vigour. Asser informs us that although suffer¬ 
ing from bodily infirmity he duly performed the 
functions of government, and exercised himself in the 
pleasures of the chase. Although his attention was dis¬ 
tracted by the invasions of his enemies, he, nevertheless, 
found time to instruct his artificers, falconers, and dog- 
keepers ; he directed the building of houses upon new 
mechanical principles ; he found time to recite, to learn, to 
teach, and to attend to his religious duties, both in private 
and in public. Whilst securing the gratitude and admiration 
of succeeding ages by his battles, his studies, and his extra¬ 
ordinary foresight, he also stands pre-eminent as the founder 
of the British navy, as we have before observed. Turn our 
eyes in whatsoever direction we may, they cannot but be 
dazzled with the splendour of his achievements. 

18. And yet Asser informs us that Alfred “ was pricked 
with many nails of tribulation, though placed in the royal 
seat,” alluding to his bodily sufferings, which according to 
the ancient chroniclers must have been very severe. Erom 
his twentieth to his fortieth year he was afflicted with what 


1 Extract from a letter addressed by Alfred to bis bishops, as quoted by Palgrave, 
p. 170. 

2 A portion of the same letter, as quoted by Craik. 

3 The accomplished scholar, Locke, “ considers language and philosophy as rather 
having a tendency to render youth unfit for the actual business of life. He thought 
that no one should waste their time in attempting to learn the Latin language but 
such who were intended for the learned professions or the higher position of a gen¬ 
tleman.” 




ALFRED. 


' 75 


Asser calls an “ unknown disease,” but what William of 
Malmesbury interprets to have been the piles. His suffer¬ 
ings, we are told, were according to his own request—he 
having made supplication to God to be afflicted with some 
disease to keep his body in subjection; and from it we are 
told he never enjoyed a moment’s rest. 1 Whilst therefore 
our admiration would be excited at the remembrance of such 
deeds as those of Alfred, performed by a man possessed of 
an iron constitution, it cannot but be greatly enhanced by 
the consideration of his bodily sufferings. Backed with in¬ 
cessant pain, yet calmly pursuing his studies, for the benefit 
of his subjects rather than for his own gratification; sub¬ 
duing the irritability that disease engenders, and rendering 
himself serviceable to all, he seems to have almost attained 
perfection. 

20. But the question arises, how was it possible for him 
to perform the actions ascribed to him ? The great secret 
is discoverable in the phrase—economy of time. With 
Alfred not only were there no idle moments, but there was 
no misspent time. His work was not only done, but it was 
done orderly. He had a time for everything, and everything 
was done in its time. The twenty-four hours of the day 
■were divided into three equal parts, viz,, eight to be employed 
in writing, reading, and prayer; eight in the refreshment 
of his body, and eight in public business. 2 One exercise 
was not allowed to intrench upon another, but each had its 
appointed period. In order to make a satisfactory division 
of his time, at a period when there were no clocks and 
watches, he caused candles to be made whereby he might 
measure it exactly. Six of these candles burned the twenty 
four hours, and in order to prevent the wind from affecting 
their combustion he invented lanterns. The activity of his 
mind was, indeed, ceaseless. 

21. Alfred was equally minute in other particulars. His 
revenue was divided into tw r o parts. The first of these parts 
had a threefold subdivision ; one third of it was to be paid 
to his ministers and soldiers, a second third to skilled artizans 


1 Asser.—W. of Malms. Chron. 

2 William of Malmesbury’s Chronicle.—Asser, with less exactness, says that he 
divided his time into two equal parts, the one of which he devoted to the service of 
God 




76 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


who were re-embellishing the different buildings of his king¬ 
dom, and the remaining third to foreigners who resorted to 
his court. The second of the two great divisions of his 
revenues had a fourfold distribution; one part was allotted 
to the poor, a second part to the twx> monasteries he had built, 
a third part to the school he had established, and a fourth 
part to the neighbouring monasteries and churches, and 
servants of God in other parts. 1 His attendants too were 
divided into three companies, each company having to serve 
at court a month in turn. 2 

22. Alfred also commended himself to the gratitude of 
his countrymen by successfully using his influence in getting 
a repeal of the taxes paid to the pope by the English school 
at Eome. London, which had suffered much from the 
hostile attacks of the Hanes, was rebuilt by him, and edifices, 
noble for the times, sprung up on every side. His laws 
were so stringent that bracelets could safely be hung by the 
wayside, 3 and yet there was so great a degree of kindness 
mingled with this firmness that the people loved and revered 
him. His piety too was equal to his bravery and political 
sagacity. A Psalter, or some other good book, was his con¬ 
stant companion. The slumbers of night were often dis¬ 
turbed by his meditations, for often, we are told, would he 
arise at midnight and repair to the chapel and engage in 
holy exercises. 4 His seemed to be a life spent for the good 
of his subjects, and as a preparation for eternity. 

28. Alfred’s fame as a legislator rests rather upon his 
collection of subsisting laws, and reducing them to a system, 
than in the framing of new ones. He was not unequal to 
the task, however, for we are not without specimens whereby 
to judge of his ability in this particular. To him has been 
ascribed the honour of instituting trial by jury—one of the 
great elements of English liberty. This, however, was the 
growth of a later age. In his time all crimes, even that of 
murder itself, were punishable by fines. Although we can 


1 Asser.—William of Malmesbury says that he devoted one half of his revenues to 
his monasteries, and divided the other half into two equal portions, one part of 
which was given to his servants, artificers, and strangers, and the other part to the 
poor, the monasteries, the scholars, and the foreign churches. 

2 Ibid. 

3 William of Malmesbury’s Chronicle.—Roger of Wendover. 

4 Asser. 



ALFRED. 


77 


hardly reconcile his system of punishments to our modern 
notions, yet we must own that there has latterly existed a 
growing inclination to moderate the character of punish¬ 
ment for crimes, and thus more nearly to assimilate our 
laws to those of the time of Alfred. So great is the revo¬ 
lution in opinion which a few years produce! 

24. Although the popular notion that Alfred divided 
England into counties is now almost exploded, and the 
more rational opinion received, viz., “that these divisions of 
the country were a work of time, and not the creation of the 
absolute fancies of an individual ” accepted, yet to Alfred 
must be ascribed the honour of dividing the people into 
hundreds and titkings for the better security of property. 1 
The story of the bracelets, before alluded to, affords a happy 
illustration of the effect of Alfred’s new arrangements. The 
just administration of the laws was a subject in which Alfred 
was very exact. We learn from Asser that he was a most 
acute investigator into the examination of a criminal. That 
he enquired into almost all the judgments delivered in his 
absence, and that he severely reprimanded those judges whose 
decisions were unjust. Thus were the laws, such as they 
were, administered during the latter part of his reign with 
vigour and impartiality. 

25. Before taking leave of the reign of Alfred we must 
notice his writings. They consist almost entirely of trans¬ 
lations ; and yet we are scarcely correct in calling them so, 
we should rather regard them as paraphrases, or even com¬ 
mentaries. 2 His chief motive in assuming the character of 


1 Ingulph.—Malmesbury. 

2 The following specimen of Alfred’s translation of Boethius will give a fair view 
of his style and mode of proceeding: 

Boethius literally translated. — “Does the brightness of gems attract your 
eyes P But the chief part of the splendour with them is the light itself of the jewels, 
not of the men; which indeed I wonder that any should so vehemently admire : for 
what is there in that which wants the motion of the soul, and the combination of 
limbs ; which can seem by right to be beautiful to animate and rational nature ? 
Although they are the works of the Creator, and by this distinction attract some¬ 
thing of the final beauty, yet placed below your excellence, they by no means deserve 
your admiration.”—Lib. ii, p. 5. 

Alfred’s Translation. —W r hy should the beauty of gems draw your eyes to 
them to wonder at them, as I know they do ? What is then the nobility of that 
beauty which is in gems P It is theirs, not yours. At this I am most exceedingly 
astonished, why you should think this irrational, created good, better than your 
own excellence; why should you so exceedingly admire these gems, or any of those 
dead-like things that have not reason; because they can, by no right, deserve that 



78 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


author was his desire to reduce to the vernacular language 
those works of his own and foreign countries which he 
deemed most advantageous to his people. Although not 
aspiring to the dignity of eloquence, in the modern accepta¬ 
tion of the term, yet his writings are distinguished by 
heartiness, quaintness, * 1 and simplicity. They may be thus 
enumerated: — 

1. —His Handbook, or Manual, which contained prayers, 
psalms, and quotations, said by Asser to have been as 
large as a Psalter. 

2. —His translation of Boethius’ Be Consolatione Pki- 
losophica, the object of which was to show the vanity of 
riches, power, dignity, and pleasure. 

3. —A Preface to the Pastorale of Pope Gregory, which 
was translated at his command by bishop Werelrith. 

4. —A Translation of Orosius. Some parts of this work 
he compressed, whilst he introduced some important 
geographical knowledge obtained by recent explorers. 

5. —Bede’s Ecclesiastical History. 

6. —Translations of portions of the Bible. 

7. —A translation of the Soliloquies of St. Augustine. 
To these have been added Alfred’s Proverbs, and ^a 
translation of iEsop’s Babies. 2 

We cannot better conclude the history of Alfred, perhaps, 
than by inserting Henry of Huntingdon’s poetical tribute 
to his memory:— 

Toilsome thy onward path to high renown, 

Thorny the chaplet that entwin’d thy crown, 

Unconquer’d Alfred ! Thine the dauntless mind, 

That in defeat could fresh resources find; 

What though thy hopes were ever dash’d with care, 

Still they were never clouded with despair: 

To-day victorious, future wars were plann’d, 

To-day defeated, future triumphs scann’d. 


you should wonder at them. Though they he God’s creatures, they are not to be 
measured with you, because one of two things occurs ; either they are not good for 
you themselves, or but for a little good compared with you. We too much under¬ 
value ourselves when we love that which is inferior to us, and in our power, more 
than ourselves, or the Lord, that has made us and given us all these goods.” 

—As extracted and translated by Sharon Turner Hist. An. Sax., vol. ii, p. 26. 

1 Thus, speaking of worldly advantages, he says : “ But there, where they be a 
good, then are they good through the goodness of the good man that doeth good 
with them, and he is good through God.”-Ibid, p. 28. 

2 Biograph. Brit., lib. ix, S. period,—Haller’s Life of Alfred the Great, translated 
by Steinitz, 



ALEIiED, 


79 


Thy way-soil’d garments, and thy blood-stain’d sword, 
Sad pictures of the lot of kings afford ; 

Who else, like this, throughout the wide world’s space, 
Bore in adversity so brave a face ? 

The sword for ever bare in mortal strife, 

Failed to cut short thy destin’d thread of life. 

Peaceful hy end: may Christ be now thy rest, 

Thine be the crown and sceptre of the blest! 1 



I < 


1 Henry of Huntingdon’s Chronicle, p. 161, 






80 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


CHAPTEE VII. 

FROM THE REIGN OF ALFRED TO THAT OF CANUTE. 

1. Derived, as the Latins were, from the great Celtic 
family, it is natural for us to expect a similarity of customs 
in the branches of their descendants. Aristocratic pride, 
monarchical absolutism, and contempt of freedom may be 
regarded as their characteristics, and thus strikingly do 
they contrast with the Teutonic people. The Britons had 
been accustomed to the overwhelming authority of the 
Druids, and thus their passive obedience was more readily 
transferred to a military dictator as soon as they were led to 
perceive the apparent justice and moderation of his govern¬ 
ment. The specious appearance and flattering attraction of 
a vice-regal court were too insinuating to be resisted, and 
the slaves of the British priests were soon found the suppli¬ 
cants for Eoman favour. In striking contrast to the British 
Celts do the German Teutones appear. Passionately culti¬ 
vating the inherent idea of freedom, the Saxons, at least in 
England, have persevered until true liberty has been obtained. 
Without the sudden panting and occasional outbreaks for 
freedom, peculiar to the Erancic people, they steadily strove 
for, and incessantly yearned after, that which they have at 
length acquired. In the eloquent words of Mackintosh, 
“ Their opinions were not blindly received from priests, nor 
was their liberty of action fettered by chiefs. Their souls 
were raised by taking a free part in concerns more dignified 
than those of individuals. The energy was awakened, which, 
after many ages of storm and darkness, qualified the Teutonic 
race to be the ruling portion of mankind, to lay the founda¬ 
tion of a better-ordered civilization than that of the eastern 
or of the ancient world, and finally to raise into the fellow- 


ANGLO-SAXON INSTITUTIONS. 


81 


ship of these blessings the nations whom they had subdued, 
but with whom they are now undiscernibly mingled.” 

2. Having referred to Alfred’s division of the people into 
hundreds and titliings, for the more effectual execution of 
the laws, I here present a summary of those institutions. 
Every man was punished as an outlaw who did not register 
himself in some tithing; and no man could change his 
habitation without a warrant or certificate from the borsholder 
of the tithing to which he formerly belonged. When any 
person in any tithing or decennary was guilty of a crime, 
the borsholder was summoned to answer for him; and if he 
were not willing to be surety for his appearance, and his 
clearing himself, the criminal was committed to prison, and 
there detained till his trial; if he fled, either before or after 
finding sureties, the borsholder and the decennary became 
liable to inquiry, and were exposed to the penalties of law. 
Thirty-one days were allowed them for producing the crimi¬ 
nal ; and if the time elapsed without their being able to find 
him, the borsholder, with two other members of the decen¬ 
nary, was obliged to appear, and, together with three chief 
members of three neighbouring decennaries, (making twelve 
in all) to swear that his decennary was free from all privity, 
both of the crime committed and of the escape of the 
criminal. If the borsholder could not find such a number 
to answer for his innocence, the decennary was compelled by 
fine to make satisfaction to the king, according to the degree 
of the offence.” 1 It has been denied that Alfred was the 
author of these regulations. “lie did not,” says Thierry, 
“ properiy speaking, institute this organization into districts, 
comprising ten or a hundred families, nor the municipal 
officers named tithing-men and hundred-men, nor even the 
mode of trial, which the influence of time has modified, aud 
which gave rise to trial by jury; all these institutions existed 
among the Saxons and Angles prior to their immigration 
into Britain.” 2 If Alfred was not the originator of all these 
judicial matters, he certainly was the improver of all such, 
and as certainly many of them took their rise from him. 3 


1 Hume’s Hist, of England. 

2 Thierry’s Conquest of England. 

3 See Turner’s Hist. Anglo-Saxon, vol. iii, lib. v, c. 6. 


* 


G 






82 


ENGLAND BEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 


One such character as that of Alfred embellishes the age in 
which he lives, and exalts the dignity of human nature. 

2. If the efforts of Alfred to promote the education of 
the people led us to hope that a bright era had arrived for 
learning and literature, we must be prepared to witness our 
hopes again eclipsed by the darksome shadows of a lengthened 
cloud. The almost supernatural energy of Alfred had 
scarcely ceased, by his early death, when Saxon ignorance 
again returned. The sword could not be sheathed, the 
temple of Janus could not be closed, whilst the hordes of 
Danish freebooters were abroad upon the earth. Incessant 
fatigue, gloomy apprehensions, civil dissensions, and family 
troubles, must yet bring successive Saxon monarchs to an 
early grave, ere the star of learning should be again in the 
ascendant. 

3. Short reigns are at all times unfavourable to social 
improvements, and particularly so where much is dependent 
upon the monarch. Especially is this the case with an 
infant state but just emerging from barbarism. Military 
organization then demands supreme attention, not only to 
encounter hostile forces from without, but also to subdue 
internal quarrels, and check the insidious or open steps of 
some aspirant to the throne. Social improvements are not 
the work of an hour, they must grow with the growth of the 
state in which they take their rise to produce permanently 
beneficial results. We can clearly perceive an illustration 
of the above general propositions, by examining the history 
of the reigns of the successors of Alfred. Within the space 
of two generations thirteen kings were successively seated 
upon the English throne. During this time the Danes 
repeatedly devastated the country and excited a general 
ferment. Vigorous Saxon princes w r ere wholly occupied in 
providing means for contending with them ; whilst the reve¬ 
nues of the kingdom, under weak-minded princes, were 
absorbed by the priests for a similar purpose. Should the 
thought of instructing the people, according to Alfred’s 
notions, have ever occurred to any of these kings, their 
reigns were too full of external troubles, or too short to 
enable them to carry out their projected schemes. The 
priests, who w r ere the sole professors of what learning existed,, 
w r ere too much engrossed in selfish ambition, in securing to 


EDWARD. 


83 


themselves and their order large landed possessions, and in 
inculcating their papal monstrosities, to attempt to circulate 
what was then generally deemed a useless commodity. The 
blessings o’f general education were to be slowly perceived; 
the soil was to be prepared ere the seeds were to be generally 
sown, that their fruits might be the more lasting. 

4. Yet in that age, as well as in every other, there was 
of course education —education in contradistinction to mere 
instruction. Education, indeed, there must be in every con¬ 
dition of life, whatever may be its character. But in the 
monasteries, where alone book learning flourished, there was 
practical training—a drawing out of the hidden man, as will 
presently be shown. What we lament is the limitation of* 
these advantages to a few favoured districts, and a few noble 
personages; the character of the information doled out; the 
immense amount of superstition accompanying it; and the 
imperfect manner of securing it3 reproduction. The super¬ 
stitions and corruptions which soon overshadowed the minds 
of both the instructors and the taught,—the want of energy 
which soon became visible in the few who had opportunities 
for improvement, as well as amongst the teachers themselves ; 
and the monopoly of such inestimable general blessings are 
now too apparent. Here is perceived a flame ignited by a 
spark from Minerva’s altar, and straightway its dazzling 
lustre beams through the hazy world, to be extinguished, at 
least for a time, by a depressing general ignorance. Such 
a one was Bede, and Alfred, and Alfric. 

5. Upon the death of Alfred, in the year a.d. 901, 
Edward the elder, or Eadweard, as he is sometimes called, 
succeeded to the throne. Had the law of hereditary succes¬ 
sion been strictly adhered to, Edward would not have been 
king, for there lived at that time Ethelwald, the son of 
Ethelred, an elder brother of Alfred. Although prudential 
considerations induced the people to lay aside his claim in 
favour of his uncle Alfred (Ethelwald being at that time too 
young to take upon himself the government of the'kingdom, 
and Alfred doubtless unwilling to act the true part of regent 
for him, especially as he had been appointed to succeed his 
father Ethelwulf,) yet the same reasons could not be adduced 
now. At any rate, Ethelwald seemed determined to dispute 
his cousin-german’s claim to the throne, and a civil war 


81 ' ENGLAND BEEOKE THE CONQUEST. 

ensued. The remembrance of the deeds of Alfred inclined 
the most influential of the Saxon nobles to support the 
claims of Edward, whilst the unsettled and Danish portion 
of the population, ever ready to support any demonstration 
against the government of the day, sided with Ethelwald. 
Ethelwald retired to the castle at Wimborne, and swore that 
he would perish ere he would desert it; but upon the arrival 
of the forces of Edward in the neighbourhood, he fled to 
Northumbria, and afterwards left the kingdom. He now 
attached himself to a band of pirates, and invaded his native 
country. Joined by the discontented East Anglians, he was 
a match for Edward, and for a time the contest between the 
two was nearly equal. In the year 905, however, Ethelwald 
fell, and the conspiracy was broken up. 1 

6. Edward had now less to distract his attention, and 
could he but have annihilated his tormentors the Danes, he 
would not have realised so forcibly the poet's conviction, 

“ Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” 

The successive invasions of these enemies, however, gave him 
not a moment’s rest. Like his father he strengthened his 
navy, finding therein the true defence of his country; but 
other precautions were not neglected. His army was ever 
ready for active service, and his subjects were employed in 
strengthening the defences of their country. The people 
seem to have been imbued with patriotic ardour. Towns 
were fortified and the enemy often attacked and defeated by 
the citizens alone. 

7. In his contests with the Danes he was much indebted 
to the prudence and valour of his sister Ethelfleda, who 
seems to have been united with her husband in the joint 
sovereignty of the Mercians. Her exploits against the 
pagans and against the Welsh, her energy in repairing or 
building towns, and especially in constructing fortifications, 
were fertile subjects for the ancient chroniclers. 2 She died 
about five years before her brother, and was buried at St. 
Peter’s, Gloucester. 3 

8. Like Alfred, Edward possessed a true military spirit 


1 A. S. Chron., Hy. of Hun., Roger of Wen., Wm. of Malm. 

2 A. S. Chron., Wm. of Malm., ingulph, Koger of Wen. 

3 Wm. of Malm. 




EDWARD. 


85 


which was eminently conspicuous in his contests with the 
Danes. Though inferior to his father in intellectual qualifi¬ 
cations, he was his superior in the power which he wielded. 1 2 
Although he earned deserved praise for his military trans¬ 
actions, yet his deeds did not eclipse the renown of his 
father, who laid the foundation for his greatness. 3 He 
reduced Essex, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Cum¬ 
berland, Galloway, and Wales, to a comparative state of 
subjection, and compelled the king of Scotland to acknow¬ 
ledge his supremacy. 3 He had a numerous family. By 
Egwina, a.concubine, he had Athelstan and a daughter. By 
Elfleda, Ethelwald, Edwin, and six daughters, viz., Eafleda, 
and Ethelhilda, who vowed celibacy to God; Edgitha, who 
was given in marriage to Charles the Simple, of Erance; 
Ethilda, who was married to the father of Hugh Capet; 
Edgitha, who was married to Otho, son of the emperor of 
Germany, and Elgifa, given in marriage to a certain duke 
near the Alps. 4 By a third wife, Edgiva, he had Edmund 
and Edred, and two daughters, Eadburga and Edgiva. 5 
Having fallen under the pope’s displeasure, for not appoint¬ 
ing bishops over the West Saxons, he convened a council in 
the year 904, over which Plegmund, archbishop of Canter¬ 
bury, presided, and appointed five new bishops. Plegmund 
was sent to Borne with presents, to announce the decision 
arrived at, and the Boman pontiff’s favour was again secured. 

9. Edward appears to have been anxious to improve the 
intellectual state of his people, and doubtless would have 
made greater efforts than he did, had the state of his king¬ 
dom permitted. It has been asserted that he founded the 
university of Cambridge, though with what probability it is 
impossible to say. He might have extended his patronage 
to a school in that neigbourhood, as his father had done 
towards a school at Oxford, though there seems no pro¬ 
bability that his claim to such honour will ever be established. 
This we do know, that he had his own children carefully 
instructed. William of Malmesbury observes: “ Edward 


1 Wm. of Malm., Ingulph, Roger of Wen., Hoveden. 

2 William of Malmesbury. 

3 A, S. Chron., Wm. of Malm., Ingulph, Roger of Wendover. 

4 Ingulph says she was given in marriage to a nobleman of high rank in the palace 
of the emperor of Germany. 

5 William of Malmesbury. 



86 


ENGLAND BEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 


had brought up his daughters in such wise that in childhood 
they gave their whole attention to literature, and afterwards 
employed themselves in the labours of the distaff and the 
needle, that thus they might chastely pass their virgin age. 
His sons were so educated, as, first, to have the completest 
benefit of learning, that afterwards they might succeed to 
govern the state, not like rustics, but philosophers.” 1 In 
this passage we have one of the earliest references to the 
needlework of the Anglo Saxons, which afterwards became 
so famous. 2 Edward died in the year 924, and was buried 
at Winchester. 


ATHELSTAN. 

10. Athelstan, or Ethelstan as he is sometimes called, 
succeeded his father Edward, by the election of the nobles, 
at the age of thirty. Tradition ascribes a low parentage to 
him on his mother’s side, asserting that she was a shepherd’s 
daughter, and never became the wife of Edward. 3 William 
of Malmesbury, however, speaks of the story he relates from 
tradition very doubtfully. The beginning of Athelstan’s 
reign was disturbed by the sedition of a nobleman named 
Elfred, or Alfred, whose designs becoming known he was 
sent to the Eoman court to defend himself upon oath before 
the pope. Having attempted to do so before the altar of 
St. Peter, he fell instantly down, and expired in the English 
school three days afterwards. 4 Athelstan soon had his 
attention directed to the kingdom of Northumberland. 
Having given a sister of his in marriage to Sihtric, its 
monarch, a firm alliance was established between them. 
►Sihtric, however, died the following year, when Athelstan 
took possession of the kingdom. Anlaf and Guthferth, the 
sons of Sihtric by a former wife, now fled, the former to 
Scotland and the latter to Ireland. 5 The king of the Scots 
was now forced to acknowledge the superiority of Athelstan, 
and the Welsh princes were compelled to pay him a heavy 


1 William of Malmesbury’s Chron., p. 125. 

2 See Lives of the Queens of England, vol. i. 

3 Wm. of Malmesbury’s Chron., lib. ii, e. 6. 

4 Ibid. 

5 Roger of Wendover, Hume. 





ATHELSTAN. 


87 


tribute. The Britons of the south of England were driven 
farther into Cornwall, and the Danish pirates overawed by 
his prowess. In the year 937 his last great battle w r as 
fought. Anlaf, the son of Sihtrie, having returned to 
England with a large fleet and army, and being joined by 
Constantine, king of the Scots, and the inhabitants of Nor¬ 
thumberland, was met by the forces of Athelstan at Brunan- 
burg, or Brumby, and there suffered a severe defeat. 1 We 
learn from William of Malmesbury that Anlaf entered the 
camp of Athelstan as a minstrel, but having been recog¬ 
nised by a deserter from his army, Athelstan received timely 
information of his visit, and was thus prepared to baffle any 
intentions he might have formed from his unsuccessful dis¬ 
guise. The battle of Brunanburg forms the subject of an 
ode in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 

11. The reign of Athelstan was blackened by one impu¬ 
ted crime, of which, however, we would willingly believe he 
was not guilty. It appears from some of the ancient 
historians 2 that Athelstan was jealous of his brother Edwin, 
whose legitimate birth gave him great uneasiness. He had 
also been informed by his cup-bearer that his brother was 
acting treacherously towards him. To relieve himself from 
this source of trouble, he ordered him to be drowned. Edwin 
was accordingly sent to sea in an open boat, with a single 
attendant; but soon becoming weary of his life, committed 
himself to the waves and perished. The Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle, however, simply mentions the fact that Edwin 
was drowned, whilst Henry of Huntingdon says that “ by a 
stroke of adverse fortune Athelstan lost his brother Edwin, 
the Etheling, a young prince of great energy and high 
promise, who was unhappily drowned in the sea.” 3 

12. Athelstan had a short but brilliant reign of sixteen 
years. During this time he so raised the character of his 
country that foreign princes sought his alliance. The em¬ 
peror of Germany begged his sister as a wife for his son 
Qtho. 4 The new duke of Normandy, Eollo, entered into an 

t 


1 A. S. Cbron., Wm. of Malm., Hoveden, Ingulph. 

2 Wm. of Malm., Eoger of Wen., Hoveden. 

3 Lib. v. 

4 Wm. of Malm., lib. ii, c. 6. 



88 


ENGLAND BEEOKE THE CONQUEST. 


alliance with him, and assisted him with his forces. 1 2 The 
presents sent to him when his fourth sister was demanded 
in marriage w r ere of the most costly description. 3 Athelstan 
has indeed been named the first king of all England. 3 
His reign was less disturbed by the Danish invasions than 
that of many of his predecessors. This may partly be ac¬ 
counted for by reflecting upon the occupations of the Danes 
at this period. Kollo was engaged in his dukedom of Nor¬ 
mandy. Thither the superfluous population of the Danes 
directed their efforts; for we are informed that when Kollo 
was hardly pressed by his enemies, the Danes, at his invita¬ 
tion came to his assistance. 4 The Danes were also prevented 
from attacking England from a consideration of the kind of 
reception they had previously met with from the vigorous 
efforts of Alfred and his son Edward, as well as from the 
known character of Athelstan. Kollo’s alliance with him 
would also tend to render them more cautious. 

14. Athelstan was not unmindful of the social condition 
of his country. To improve commerce he passed a law, 
awarding the rank of thane, or nobleman, to any one who 
should make three successful voyages on his own account. 5 6 
His private resources were not squandered away in luxury, 
nor lavishly heaped upon the undeserving, and yet they 
were all spent. He built two new monasteries, we are 
informed, one at Middleton, and the other at Muchelney, 
and richly endowed them. Besides these, there were few of 
the old monasteries in England that did not experience 
benefit from his liberality. 7 He was a worthy descendant 
of the great Alfred, not only in his personal bravery and 
prudent government, but also in his mental capacity. Having 
been educated in the court of his Aunt Ethelfleda, he was 
distinguished by the lustre of his qualities; and we are 
assured by William of Malmesbury that he w r as versed in 
literature. So high was the esteem in which his court was 
held for learning, that Haco, the son of the Norwegian 


1 Turner’s Hist, of Eng., vol. i, p. 58. -Koger of Wendover, 

2 Wm. of Malm., lib. ii, e. 6. 

3 Thierry’s Norman Conquest, lib. ii, p. 26. - 

4 Turner’s Hist, of Eng., vol. iii, c. iii, p. 64. 

5 Hume. 

6 Eoger of Wendover. 

7 William of Malmesbury, Ingulpk, 



EDMUND. 


89 


monarch, was sent here to he educated. 1 He appears to 
have had an extensive library, some of the MSS. of which 
might have been seen at Bath at the time of the Reforma¬ 
tion. A MS. of the Gospels presented to the cathedral of 
Canterbury by him, is still preserved. Like his grandfather 
Alfred, he encouraged the translation of the scriptures into 
his native language. 2 He was beloved by his subjects, 
respected by the sovereigns of Europe, and feared by his 
enemies; and his loss was the more severely lamented 
through the imbecility of the sovereigns who succeeded him. 

EDMUND. 

15. Edmund, the brother of Athelstan, ascended the 
throne in the year 940, at the age of eighteen, having pre¬ 
viously buried his brother with great pomp. In the follow¬ 
ing year he marched into Cumberland, and having ravaged 
it, granted it to Malcolm, king of Scotland, for the very 
obliging reason that he could not undertake to keep it in 
subjection himself. 3 In the early part of his reign he ad¬ 
mitted Dunstan to his counsels, a man of great ambition, 
lofty intellect, and of noble family; but having been sub¬ 
sequently informed by his nobles of some peculating faults 
in Dunstan’s character, he deprived him of his honours. A 
circumstance occurred on the following day, however, most 
fortunate for the disgraced priest. Whilst the king was 
engaged in hunting, the deer they were pursuing leapt over 
an immense precipice, and, with the dogs that were follow¬ 
ing it, was killed. The king, perceiving his danger, 
attempted in vain to hold in his horse. Seeing no hope of 
escape, he exclaimed, “I give thee thanks, Lord Jesus 
Christ, that at this time I do not remember having injured 
any one but Dunstan only, and this fault I will with ready 
zeal amend by a hearty reconciliation, if thou only grant me 
time.” 4 Upon which the horse stood and the king was saved. 
Dunstan was consequently restored to favour and made 
abbot of Glastonbury. 5 The abbey itself was greatly en- 


1 Hist, of England, Gleig. 

2 Popular Hist, of England. 

3 A. S. Chron., Hy. of Huntingdon. 

4 Roger of Wendoyer’s Chronicle, p. 250. 

5 Ibia. 



90 ENGLAND BEFOEE THE CONQUEST. 

riched by the bounty of the king, and a charter granted to 
it, one of the most important clauses of which secured its 
exemption from the impositions of the king’s officers. 1 
Edmund did not long survive this. Being present at a 
grand entertainment of his nobles at Pucklechurch, he dis¬ 
covered amongst the assembled guests a robber, named 
Leolf, whom he had previously banished the kingdom. He 
ordered the fellow to leave the room, and upon his refusing 
to obey, Edmund rushed upon him to remove him by main 
force, when a concealed dagger was thrust into the king’s 
body by the villain, which caused his immediate death. He 
left a son named Edgar, who afterwards ascended the 
throne. 2 


EDEED. 

18. There were children of Edmund living at the time 
when Edred, the son of Edward the elder, and brother of 
the two last kings, was crowned. But they were minors, 
and at that early period of our national history, a firm 
government could alone be expected to allay internal 
troubles, or defeat external enemies. The sovereignty was 
at this early period partly elective. Alfred, Athelstan, 
Edmund, aad Edred, were irregular sovereigns, and obtained 
possession of the throne by the suffrages of the nobles, or by 
their own determined character. The troubles of Edred 
commenced with his accession to the throne. The Nor¬ 
thumbrian Danes, ever intent upon rebelling against the 
authority of the West Saxon kings, renounced his authority. 
Edred lost no time in quelling the disturbance, and, further, 
marching into Scotland, compelled its king to do him 
homage. Two years scarcely elapsed ere these troublesome 
Northmen again hoisted the standard of independence. 
Eric, the son of Harold, who had been appointed king of 
Northumbria by Athelstan, 3 returned to England and was 
again proclaimed kiug. Edred sent his chancellor, Turketul, 
to Wulfstan, archbishop of York, who was suspected of 
favouring the designs of the Northumbrian, to exhort him 


1 William of Malmesbury. 

2 Hoveden. 

3 A. S. Chron., sub. an. 949, Roger of Wendover, Thierry's Norman Conquest, 

p. 28. 





EDRED. 


91 


to remain faithful to Edred. 1 In his journey to Northum¬ 
bria the chancellor was entertained by the monks of Croy- 
land, though in the most miserable manner, in consequence 
of their poverty. When upon his return he had made 
known to Edred the results ol his journey towards the 
north, he represented to him the distressed state of the 
monastery at Croyland. After some amount of difficulty he 
procured the abbacy for himself, and endowed it with six of 
the sixty rich manors he possessed, giving the remainder of 
them to the king. 2 Meanwhile Edred marched into Nor¬ 
thumbria, again quieted the country, and was returning 
when he was suddenly attacked by some Yorkshire forces in 
his rear. He engaged and defeated them, and would have 
returned and further devastated their country had not the 
now distressed Northumbrians tendered their submission. 3 
In the following year (919) he was again deprived of the 
Northumbrian sovereignty by a certain Anlaf Curran, and 
after him by Eric, both of whom had previously been 
invested with kingly power there; and it was not until the 
year 951 that he was again invited to assume the sovereignty 
of the country. 4 

19. During this reign Dunstan began to bring himself 
into notoriety by the measures which he adopted to increase 
the power of the church in England. He introduced the 
rules of the Benedictine order of monks, and endeavoured to 
enforce their due observance. To impress the people w r ith 
an exalted idea of his own sanctity was an object of his 
solicitude, perceiving that thereby the royal road to prefer¬ 
ment would be open to him. Edred delivered into his hands 
the custody of his treasures, as well as of his conscience, 5 
which were turned to the best account for the accomplish¬ 
ment of his own schemes by the astute and ambitious 
churchman. 

20. If Edred did not possess military qualities equal to 
his predecessors, he, at least, secured the respect of the 


1 Wulfstan was afterwards, in the year 951, deprived of his archbishopric, and 
kept in chains for a period of two years, when he was released from prison and made 
bishop of Dorchester.—Roger of Wen., Wm. of Malm. 

2 Ingulph. - See also Roger of Wendover. 

3 A. S. Chron., Wm. of Malm., Ingulph, Roger of Wen., Hy. of Hunt. 

4 Ibid. 

5 Roger of Wendover. 



92 


ENGLAND BEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


clergy and monks by bis liberal donations to members of 
their order. “ He devoted his life to G-od, and to Dunstan,” 
remarks William of Malmesbury ; and if founding and re¬ 
storing monasteries entitle him to such honour he certainly 
earned it. 1 Pinding his death approaching, he sent for his 
confessor Dunstan, but before he could reach Prome, where 
the king lay, Edred expired. His palace is said to have 
been the school of virtue. 2 


EDWT. 

21. The death of Edred paved the way for the elevation 
of the sons of Edmund to the throne. Edwy, though not 
more than sixteen or seventeen years of age at the death of 
his uncle, was crowned king by archbishop Odo, at Kingston, 
in the year 955. Being involved in a contest with the 
monks, and especially with Dunstan, at the commencement 
of his reign, and his biographers being monks, we have the 
greatest difficulty in estimating his true character. By most 
of the old chroniclers he is represented as the most wanton 
of youths. 3 Prom the previous remarks, however, we are 
inclined to doubt the truthfulness of the serious charges 
alleged against him. lloger of Wendover accuses him of 
having had improper connexion with a certain lady of noble 
birth, and her mother. Yet we have positive evidence of 
his marriage with the daughter, and no grounds for believing 
that there was otherwise than a proper degree of maternal 
affection manifested towards him from the latter. 4 At his 
coronation the young Edwy left the carousals of the nobility 
and clergy at an early hour, and retired to join the more 
congenial society of his wife and her mother; upon which 
the revellers whom he had left felt indignant, and Dunstan 
was despatched, or went of his own accord, to fetch the 
young king back. This was forcibly done, and the insult 
thus offered to royalty by an arrogant churchman could not 
easily be forgotten. 5 Dunstan was accused of unfaithfulness 
in his office of treasurer to the late king, and was banished 


1 Ingulph. 

2 William of Malmesbury. 

3 William of Malmesbury, Roger of W r endover. 

4 Knight’s Popular Hist, of England, vol. i, p. 134. 

5 Wm, of Malmesbury, Roger of Wendover. 




EDGAE. 


93 


the kingdom. 1 Otho, the archbishop of Canterbury, and 
the faction that acted with him, soon excited a popular in¬ 
surrection in the kingdom of Mercia, and Edgar, his brother, 
was elected king of the district north of the Thames. Otho 
at length separated Edwy and his wife Elgiva, 2 on the plea 
of his having violated the laws of consanguinity. Elgiva’s 
face was then brutally seared with a red hot iron. She was 
banished from the kingdom, and upon her endeavouring to 
return was waylaid at Gloucester, had the sinews of her legs 
divided, and died in a few days in great agony. 3 Edwy did 
not long survive her, having been probably murdered in the 
year 958, after a short and inglorious reign of four years. 

22. It is satisfactory to find that one respectable historian, 
at least, rescues the name of Edwy from the opprobrium 
which has attached to it. Henry of Huntingdon says, 
“ This king wore the diadem not unworthily; but after a 
prosperous and becoming commencement of his reign, its 
happy promise was cut short by a premature death.” 

EDGAE, THE PACIEIC. 

23. "We now approach the reign of the second son of 
Edmund. We cannot but regard the death of the youthful 
Edwy as highly suspicious. We will not suspect Edgar, 
however, as being the author or accomplice of the crime; 
for we have abundant grounds for believing that Edwy was 
surrounded with implacable and unscrupulous churchmen 
who would willingly have offered a pardon to any one who 
might have murdered him. Yet we cannot believe that he 
regretted his brother’s loss, nor can we admire his conduct 
either in becoming the instrument in the dismemberment 
of his brother’s kingdom, or in receiving the bitter enemies 
of his brother into his most cordial favour. But we must 
bear in mind that he was but a boy, having acquired the 
undivided sovereignty of England at the early age of sixteen, 
liaised by the monks to kingly dignity in his brother’s life¬ 
time, he never forgot the services rendered by them: 


1 A. S. Chron., Wm, of Malmesbury. 

2 A. S. Cliron., Eoger of Wendover. 

3 Hume, on the authority of Osberne and Gervase. 



94 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


24. Edgar has been styled “ the Peaceable,” and certainly 
his reign was less disturbed by foreign enemies and intestine 
commotions than any former reign had been. The Danes, 
as we have already remarked, were engaged in the permanent 
settlement of Normandy, and had consequently less induce¬ 
ment to visit England; and even had such a desire existed, 
the politic measures taken by Edgar, doubtless under the 
advice of Dunstan, would have rendered the execution of 
their design more hazardous than desirable. The people, 
too, were more united, resources were more abundant, and 
the means of defence better calculated to ward off an attack 
of pirates than ever previously had been the case. The 
English navy had been rapidly increased in strength since 
the time of Alfred, Edgar had consequently a most powerful 
fleet at his command, which was constantly in course of 
training, and continually on the look-out for an enemy. The 
old historians have doubtless exaggerated the number of 
vessels in commission, three thousand six hundred being one 
of the lowest stated numbers. 1 After making due allowance 
we, however, can readily believe that he had a large number 
of well equipped ships. 

25. Ascending the throne in the year 959, we are yet 
informed that he was not crowned till the year 973. 2 This 
is partly accounted for by the old historians from the fact 
that he had many years of penance to submit to for his 
enormous crimes. Thus, he carried off a nun, 3 4 and was com¬ 
pelled to do seven year’s penance for it. He murdered a 
nobleman, named Atlielwolf, to marry his widow; and look¬ 
ing lustfully upon the daughter of another, was only 
prevented from carrying out his design against her by 
maternal care and trickery <4 And yet, notwithstanding 
these crimes, his character was most highly eulogized by the 
ancient chroniclers, and his wickedness lightly referred to. 
The partiality of the historians for Edgar, however, is readily 
accounted for: he was the friend of the church, and to 
churchmen are we indebted for what knowledge we possess 
of him. This single passage from William of Malmesbury 


1 Hoveden. 

2 Roger ofWendover. 

3 Malmesbury denies that bis victim was a nun. 

4 See Wm. of Malmesbury. 




EDGAR. 


95 


fully explains the secret: “ Scarcely does a year elapse in 
the chronicles in which he did not perform something great 
and advantageous to his country; in which he did not build 
some new monastery.” This was, indeed, the age of monas- 
teries. Ordericus Yitalis says that Edgar founded twenty- 
six new monasteries, and Ingulph that he restored more than 
forty-eight. His liberal benefactions to these monkish hab¬ 
itations would have been alone sufficient to secure for him 
the favourable opinion of their inmates. But this was not 
all. He lent his aid to Dunstan to exterminate the secular 
clergy from the monasteries, (i. e., those who were either 
married or refused to separate from their wives) aud to 
enforce the strict rules of celibacy. In one word, he was 
the tool of the priests, and for his co-operation with them in 
their designs he received their good opinion and support. 
Dunstan was made bishop of Worcester, then of London, 
and lastly archbishop of Canterbury, by him, and was thus 
bound to him by the ties of gratitude as well as policy. 

26. Edgar was a powerful -prince. He subdued the 
inhabitants of different parts of Britain by the mere terror 
of his name, and inspired his foreign enemies with fear by 
the reports spread of his prowess. 1 Saxons, Elemings, aud 
Danes visited and entered into an alliance with the powerful 
Edgar, though the historians complain that their arrival 
corrupted the natives. 2 Although but small of stature, he 
is represented as overawing more powerfully built men, no 
one daring to meet him in single combat. 3 Upon one occa¬ 
sion, we are informed, that he summoned his tributary 
princes to Chester, when eight of them rowed him in a boat 
on the river Dee. 4 His laws were respected, yet it was the 
punishment attending the breaking of them that caused 
them to be so. “Edgar’s laws for the punishment of 
offenders were horribly severe. The eyes were put out, 
nostrils slit, ears torn off, hands and feet cut off, and finally, 
after the scalp had been torn off, the miserable wretches 
were left exposed to beasts of prey.” 5 , Yet he was careful 


1 Wm. of Malmesbury, Hy. of Huntingdon. 

2 Ibid. 

3 Wm, of Malmesbury. 

4 Wm. of Malm., Hy. of Hunt., Roger of Wen., Hoveden. 

5 Note to Bohn’s edition ofWm. of Malmesbury’s Chronicle, p. 15S, The editor’s 
authority for the note is V. Acta, Sanctor, Jub, 2, in Vita Sioythuai. 



96 


ENGLAND BEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


that justice should not he abused. To this end he visited 
the different parts of his kingdom in person, that he might 
ascertain that the poor were not oppressed by the rich, but 
that equal justice was administered to all. 1 William of 
Malmesbury absurdty asks, How it could be supposed that 
he would pass over the crimes of men, when he was deter¬ 
mined to destroy all the beasts of prey in his kingdom, and 
commanded the king of the Welsh to pay him a tribute of 
three hundred wolves’ heads yearly, instead of his former 
tribute. 

27. Although the vices of Edgar were neither few in 
number, nor trifling in character; although the means 
adopted to secure the crown, and to preserve honesty in his 
acquired dominions, were not of the most exemplary charac¬ 
ter ; although his unreserved obedience to the dictates of 
the monks militates against his character as a great and inde¬ 
pendent sovereign, yet we are compelled to regard him as one 
of the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs. If we 
have no record of his attention to the intellectual improve¬ 
ment of the people, we yet know that he provided those 
places where learning alone flourished for many centuries 
afterwards, and without which what little we know of our 
own ancestors would probably have been buried in oblivion. 
We are assured that Edgar was the patron of the liberal 
arts, 2 and this we can readily understand from the attention 
he paid to the erection of monasteries. We know that 
learned men met with the encouragement they deserved, 
(which is rarely the case in modern times) and we are in¬ 
formed of one man, Abbo, who was sent for from France to 
become a teacher in England. 3 After a reign of sixteen 
years, Edgar died, and was buried at Glastonbury in the 
year 975. 


EDWARD. 

28. The fruits of the policy and wickedness of Edgar 
soon made their appearance. The student of history derives 
satisfaction in discovering the justice as well as wisdom 


1 Roger of Wendover. 

2 Wm. of Malmesbury, 

3 Ordericus Vitalis. 



EDWARD. 


97 


displayed by God in his terrestrial government. Nations, as 
well as individuals, cannot prosecute a sinful course un¬ 
scathed. The arm of vengeance overtakes the guilty with a 
fearful retribution. Could we be permitted to read the 
inward thoughts and feelings of Edgar, as we have an 
opportunity of studying his outward actions, we should 
doubtless discover from his guilt-stricken conscience, from 
the humiliation which he often felt at his prostration at the 
feet of the monks, a verification of the precept, “ Though 
hand join in hand the wicked shall not go unpunished.” 
But we will depart from the region of surmise and enter the 
district of fact, and there witness a nation’s degradation 
through a nation’s folly. 

29. Edgar, as we have before related, murdered a noble¬ 
man to marry his wife. We have an almost parallel case 
recorded in the Bible. The man after God’s own heart took 
the poor man’s lamb,—the issue of his guilt was the cause 
of the dismemberment of his kingdom. 1 Such was the result 
too of Edgar’s wickedness. Edgar died, and forthwith there 
was a commotion in the kingdom regarding a successor to 
his dignity. Edgar had directed in his will that the 
sovereignty should devolve upon Edward. He was his 
eldest surviving son, and was better fitted by his years for 
the government of a kingdom (although but fifteen years of 
age at the death of his father) than was Ethelred under the 
regency of the ambitious Elfrida. So thought Dunstan and 
his party, and notwithstanding the intrigues of the queen- 
mother Edward was crowned king. 2 

30. It has been before mentioned that the secular canons 
were dismissed from their monasteries by Edgar, and monks 
devoted to celibacy introduced. The naturally irritated 
churchmen who were expelled could ill brook the loss of 
their lawfully acquired dignities, and only sought an oppor¬ 
tunity to put forward claims for their restoration. This 
opportunity presented itself at the death of Edgar. The 
demise of the powerful king who had ousted them, gave an 
opportunity to clamour against the injustice of the past, and 
to seek for redress. 3 The Mercian duke sided with them, 


1 1 Kings, chap. ii. 

2 A. S. Chron., Wm. of Malm., Roger of Wen., Hoveden. 

3 Wm. of Malmesbury. 


n 


* 








98 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


whilst the duke of East Anglia supported the new order of 
things, and consequently a most furious contest ensued. 1 
The wily Dunstan was compelled to resort to his usual 
system of miracle-working, in order to prevent the general 
return of the secular priests to the monasteries. A council 
was called at Winchester, at which the crucifix i3 said to 
have sanctioned Dunstan’s innovations by speaking to the 
following effect: “ Ear be it from you; you have done well; 
to change again would be wrong.” 2 This imposture, how¬ 
ever, did not quite settle the matter, and consequently 
another meeting was convened at Caine, when the floor of 
the upper chamber in which the “ witan ” was assembled 
gave way, and the whole of the members were killed or 
severely hurt, except Dunstan, whose chair most miraculously 
stood firm amidst the surrounding wreck. 3 

31. Edward’s reign was short and his end tragical. 
William of Malmesbury asserts that his stepmother had the 
chief authority during his brief reign. This, however, seems 
improbable, since we learn from William himself, and other 
old chroniclers, that Dunstan was still in high favour at 
court, and it was he undoubtedly 'who had the principal 
management of affairs. Elfrida’s ambition led her to desire 
supreme authority, and she was in no wise scrupulous as to 
the means of obtaining it. She who could desire to sacrifice 
a husband that she might become England’s queen, we may 
readily believe was well fitted to take any step which might 
render the accession of her son to the throne secure. She 
consequently appears before us in the character of an acces¬ 
sory to a diabolical murder, and, secondly, a murderess 
herself. Edward had been hunting in Dorsetshire, and took 
advantage of the occasion to visit his stepmother, who was 
living at Corfe castle. She presented him with wine, but 
whilst drinking it he was stabbed by one of her attendants. 
He gallopped off, but becoming faint from the loss of blood, 
fell from his horse, and was dragged for a considerable 
distance in the stirrup. His death was the immediate 
result, and he was privately interred at Wareham in the 
year 978. 4 

1 Hoveden. 

2 Wm. of Malmesbury, lib. ii, c. 9, note. 

3 Ibid, A. S. Chron., Hoveden, Hy. of Huntingdon. 

4 A. S. Chron,, Wm, of Malmesbury. 





ETHELRED. 


99 


ETHELRED, (THE UNREADY.) 

32. The vile deed of Elfrida, although it resulted in the 
elevation of her own son to the throne, by no means satisfied 
the full extent of her wishes. Rarely, indeed does crime 
produce the anticipated results of the perpetrator. Some¬ 
times, indeed, the semblance of the desires is obtained, and 
often but the semblance. If expected pleasures, however, 
are not derived, certainly the sting of remorse, and frequently 
the stroke of chastisement are experienced. In this instance 
the beauty of Elfrida was lost in the execrable deed of 
which she had been guilty, and the country doomed to suffer 
bitterly through the imbecility of him whom she had raised 
to the throne. She afterwards performed acts of penitence, 
but they were only artifices to appease the conflicts of an 
accusing conscience. 1 

33. The angel’s hand was already uplifted over a guilty 
nation—over a people that had permitted such crimes to 
pass by unpunished, and almost unheeded. In the year 
followiog the coronation of Ethelred there was a bloody 
cloud seen in the heavens in the likeness of fire. 2 Well 
might the superstitious Saxons be ready to tremble at the 
appearance ot such an omen. Well might they be ready to 
expect the vengeance of an offended God. In the year 980 
the Danes re-appeared—the instruments for the punishment 
of the guilty. Southampton, Thanet, and Chester were 
ravaged by them. 3 They came this time to leave no more 
until the whole of England had owned their sway. 

34. It would be tedious and unprofitable to follow the 
history of the inroads of the Danes throughout this reign. I 
shall consequently rather seize upon the most important events 
which give it a peculiar character. I must first notice the 
weakness of Ethelred as displayed in the means adopted by him 
to ward off the attacks of his enemies. Edgar, as we have 
before seen, had bequeathed to his son a powerful fleet; 
other sovereigns had greatly strengthened the defences of 
the kingdom, so that powerful means were at Ethelred’s 
disposal to repel the Danes. But then the mantle of Edgar 
had not fallen upon Ethelred. Edgar’s bravery and Edgar’s 

1 Wm. of Malmesbury, Roger of Wendoyer, 

2 A,. S. Chrou. 

3 Ibid. 




100 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


vigilance were alike wanting in his son. And so the 
resources of the country were not applied to their legitimate 
purposes. The fleet of Edgar was soon destroyed. Another 
and another were collected, but each was destined to attain 
the same inglorious end. 1 

35. Ethelred was surrounded with timid counsellors; the 
cowardly expedient of bribing the enemy to depart was 
adopted; and with the loss of a nation’s independence 
departed a nation’s hopes. In a.d. 991, £10,000 were given 
to the Danes to leave; in a.d. 991, £16,0000; in a.d. 1002, 
£24,000; in a.d. 1007, £36,000; in a.d. 1012, £48,000. 
Thus were the inhabitants deprived of a large part of their 
incomes; the monasteries stripped of their valuables; the 
application of the tax of Danegelt (which had been estab¬ 
lished to provide a fund for the defence of the country) 
prevented,—in consequence of the weakness and impolicy of 
Ethelred. 

36. Ethelred had recourse to a foreign alliance, perhaps 
hoping thereby to obtain assistance in repelling the enemy 
which his own resources, properly directed might have 
enabled himself to overcome. He married Emma, sister to 
the duke of Normandy. His hopes in that direction, how¬ 
ever, if he entertained any, signally failed. 2 We read of no 
expedition from thence to assist the frail monarch. This 
may account for the harshness with which the despicable 
Ethelred treated his Norman wife. 3 The truth is the Norman 
duke had enough difficulties of his own without encumbering 
himself with the misfortunes of others. The piratical Danes 
too were his kinsmen; and those Normans who came over 
with Emma, and were placed in situations of trust, were the 
first to desert the offices with which they had been en¬ 
trusted. 4 

37. Ethelred was unfortunate in the selection of his 
officers. Often would the tide of victory have rolled in 
favour of the Saxons, had not the treachery of their leaders 
delivered them into the hands of their enemies. Thus the 
names of Elfric and Edric are branded with disgrace as 


1 A. S. Chron., sub. an. 1009. 

2 Thierry. 

3 Roger of Wendover, Wm. of Malmesbury. 

4 Hoveden. 




ETHELRED. 


101 


traitors to their country. Yet so infatuated was this weak 
monarch that these men received the false premium of their 
iniquity in being repeatedly replaced in the command of 
forces they had so shamefully deserted. 1 2 Thus in 992, 
Elfric, who was commander of the kings’s forces, warned the 
Danish army of their danger, and during the night previously 
to the battle deserted to them. Yet in 1003 we find him 
again in command of the army, and when in sight of his 
opponents feigning himself ill that he may avoid bringing 
the Danes to an engagement. 3 In 1002, when the English 
ships were ready to attack the Danes, the cowardice or 
treachery of Edric prevented them; whilst in 1015 he 
deserted to Canute with forty ships. 3 This second traitor 
was bound by the ties of kindred as well as patriotism to be 
faithful to his country, having married the king’s daughter. 
It is satisfactory to learn that the hand of justice visited the 
criminal with condign punishment; for, pleading his deserts 
afterwards before Canute, as having been the betrayer of 
two sovereigns for the purpose of elevating him to the 
throne, he was by the king’s orders hanged and his body 
thrown into the Thames. 3 Ethelred’s conduct appears in 
striking contrast with that of Canute, he having ordered 
Elfgar, the son of Elfric, to be blinded as a punishment for 
his father’s crimes. Yet he afterwards restored Elfric to 
his confidence. 4 

38. The climax of Ethelred’s cruelty appears in his dia¬ 
bolical massacre of the Danes throughout England upon the 
festival of St. Brice. 5 This not unusual course of procedure, 
—the frequent resort of weak princes—produced its merited 
chastisement. I cannot pass over this event without taking 
exception to the words of Thierry in reference to this 
execrable expedient. He regards it as “ one of those acts 
of national vengeance which it is equally difficult to condemn 
or to justify.” Eor the treacherous massacre of thousands, 
irrespective of age or sex, most assuredly merits the fullest 
condemnation from a Christian historian. The abhorred 


1 A. S. Chron. 

2 Anglo-Saxon Chron., sub. an. 992 and 1003. 

3 Ingulph. 

4 Anglo-Saxon Chron. 

5 Hy. of Huntingdon, Hoveden. 



102 


ENGLAND BEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


crime led to the dethronement of the Saxon monarch. 
Sweyn invaded the country. Ethelred, destitute of the 
means and courage for defence, fled to the Isle of AVight, 
and thence departed and sought refuge with his brother-in- 
law at Normandy. 1 

39. In the following year (1014) Sweyn died, and 
Ethelred was invited by the chief men of the kingdom to 
return, upon condition that he should rule them better than 
he had hitherto done. 2 Having promised what was required 
of him, and further that he would become a “ loving lord ” 
to them, he was permitted to return to experience the ven¬ 
geance of the son of Sweyn. After a series of imbecile acts, 
unworthy of record, Ethelred expired in the year 1016, 3 
unlamented by the people whom he had brought to the verge 
of ruin. His character is depicted to us as a compound of 
all those vices generally attendant upon weakness, without 
one redeeming quality. 

EDMUND (IRONSIDE.) 

40. Edmund undertook the reins of government at a 
most inauspicious moment. The country had been ravaged, 
houses destroyed, and the people plundered. No common 
bond of unity amongst the miserable remnants of inhabitants 
presaged a termination to their misfortunes. The increasing 
numbers of Danes daily arriving gave no hope that the day 
of their deliverance from barbarian tyranny was at hand. 
Had Edmund immediately succeeded to the throne of his 
grandfather Edgar, hopes might have been brighter and the 
degradation of England avoided. But now, alas ! the day 
was gone by. The Danes had obtained a firm footing in the 
island, and most of the fortified places were in their hands. 
They had a large army at their command, supported by a 
powerful fleet. They were elated with success, and were 
led to entertain exaggerated notions of their invincibility; 
whilst the opposite of all these promising circumstances was 
the lot of the Saxons. Eearful prospect for such a people in 
such a case! 


1 A. S, Chron., Win. of Malmesbury. 

2 “This covenant between king and people is exceedingly interesting, as it is the 
first formal acknowledgment of the principle that a loyal people rightly demand 
justice from their king.” 

3 A. S. Cliron., Wm. of Malmesbury. 



EDMUND. 


103 


41. Could Hie valour of an individual have averted the 
stroke of fate pronounced upon a devoted nation Edmund’s 
would have been found sufficient. With an ill-disciplined 
and ill-appointed army Edmund nevertheless had seven en¬ 
gagements with the Danes during the year of his reign 
(1016), and was often victorious. 1 All the treachery of 
Edric, who had now joined Canute’s army, was brought 
against him, but for a time in vain. Yet he could not im¬ 
prove the advantages he often gained over his enemy from 
the weakness and insufficiency of his forces. Had the people 
thronged around his standard as they should have done; 
had he ascended the throne a few years earlier; had he had 
a less powerful and politic enemy to deal with than Canute, 
he had assuredly rescued his country from foreign thraldom. 
As it was he gained the respect of his powerful rival, Canute, 
and after challenging, and as some say, engaging in single 
combat with him, these two great men agreed to divide the 
kingdom between them, Edmund receiving the country south 
of the Thames and Canute the territory to the north. 
Edmund did not long enjoy his honours, having been trea¬ 
cherously slain the same year at the instigation of Edric. 
Edric, happily, received the reward of his guilt by having his 
head placed upon a pole on the highest battlement of the 
tower of London. 2 


1 Henry of Huntingdon. 

2 Ibid. 







104 


ENGLAND BEFOUL THE CONQUEST. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

LEARNING DURING THE FOREGOING PERIOD. 

1. How chequered are the events of a nation’s existence! 
How similar to those of personal history. To infancy suc¬ 
ceeds childhood ; then follows youth, which is chased off by 
old age ; whilst old age at length yields to death. 1 All is 
rise and progress until the zenith is attained, when decay 
follows and death supervenes. "We are now engaged in 
considering the second period of our nation’s history—the 
history of its childhood, infancy having faded away. Very 
little need be said of learning in England in the ninth 
century. The first seventy years, to the time of'Alfred, 
were frittered away in contests with the Hanes, and the 
latter portion has been almost exhausted in our study of the 
life of Alfred. The progress we might have expected to 
behold, after the stimulus given to education by Bede, Ald- 
helm, and Alcuiu, was completely checked by the wild in¬ 
cursions of the Hanes. The repose necessary for literary 
advancement was wanting in such a state of society. The 
peaceable scholar was compelled to give up his studious pro¬ 
fession and join in the warrior throng, or depart to a foreign 
country where his labours would be appreciated. Thus was 
England robbed of its brightest ornaments. Without teach¬ 
ers there could be no pupils, and consequently no educational 
establishments; so that when Alfred ascended the throne 
ignorance was triumphant. The efforts which he made to 
remedy the evils have already been recorded. At his death 
England could once more boast of her educational establish¬ 
ments. Once more flourished here scholars of no mean 


1 “ Optima quseque dies miseris mortalibus aevi 
Prima fugit: subeunt morbi, tristisque seuectus : 

Et labor, et durae rapit inclementia mortis.” 

Virgilii Georgica. lib. iii, 66. 



LEARNING IN THE NINTH CENTURY. 


105 


attainments, attracted by his liberality and patronage. How 
melancholy to reflect that the fruit of his labours should have 
been so soon lost to those who had such pressing need of it! 
Yet so it was. He shone like the noon day sun between 
passing April showers. Whilst he lived England’s home 
was illuminated; when he disappeared the superincumbent 
clouds burst asunder, and ignorance deluged the land. 

“ Eripiunt subito nubes ccelumque diemque.” 

■The schools established by him were soon annihilated. The 
learned men invited here by him left no worthy successors. 
The kingly interest manifested by him for the welfare of his 
subjects was perpetuated by few of his successors; and fatal 
ignorance became again paramount. 

2. If Edward established a school at Cambridge, we 
know nothing of its details. If Athelstan was friendly to 
learning, the limits of his patronage were narrow. If edu¬ 
cation w r as encouraged at the monasteries we are ignorant of 
its results. To speculate upon probabilities would be but 
mere trifling with the patience of my readers, and my 
remarks upon this head will consequently be but few. 
Edward was certainly anxious to promote the interests of 
his people intellectually. Athelstan was not unmindful of 
them. The remaining kings were either the subjects of the 
monks, or too much engrossed in military occupations to 
care anything about mental improvement. Of the church¬ 
men in whose hands education was invested we know little. 
Hunstan is the most conspicuous. But even he could have 
cared but little about it, as we find him extolled for miraculous 
absurdities, for his zeal in promoting the interests of the 
church, and for his mechanical ingenuity and his political 
intrigue. 1 

3. Whilst learning was flourishing in England under the 


1 iokd’s PRAYER IN SAXON. 

Uren fader, thic artli in heofnas : 

Sic gehalgud thin noma: 

So cymeth thin rye : 

Sic thin willa sue is in heofnas and in eortho : 

Uren hlaf oferwistlie set us to doeg: 

And forgefe us scylda urna sue we forgefan scyldgum urum: 
And no inlead usic in custnung : 

Ah gefrig usich from itle. 

Coote’s Hist. England, vol. i, p. 488. 



106 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


guardianship of Alfred, in the east a revolution in letters 
was in progress which was destined to effect not only imme¬ 
diate but successive generations. The Arabians began to 
study. They prosecuted their researches in earnest. They 
soon made manifest what persevering exertion could accom¬ 
plish. They were not monkish drones, eking out their 
time in performing what they were commanded to accomplish ; 
they studied because study was congenial to their tastes. 
Schools were soon established amongst them, as at Bagdad, 
Ousa, and Basora. Under the caliphates of Almanzor, 
Haroun al Bashid, and Mamun, learning flourished, and the 
most rapid advances were made in the sciences, particularly 
those of medicine, geometry, astronomy, algebra, and phi¬ 
losophy. Learned men found patrons in the courts of the 
Arabian princes. Libraries were formed, to furnish which 
Greek works were translated into the Arabian tongue. 
Wherever Arabians were found, there indeed was learning 
perceptible; whether it was in Syria, Africa, Spain, or Italy. 
Wherever they went they became the most famous teachers. 
They stimulated the Europeans to diligence, and whatever 
learning was found in Europe after the tenth century was 
embellished with Arabian scholarship. 1 

4. In the east of Europe learning again flourished in 
the ninth century—Constantinople being the theatre of 
learned men. In the west some progress also xvas made. 
Louis the Meek employed Benedict to reform the monasteries 
of Erance, and the rule of St. Benedict became universally 
acknowledged. Charles the Bald, too, encouraged learning. 
He multiplied schools, and extended his favour to the Anglic 
school. His brother and contemporary, Lothaire, ruler of 
Italv, erected schools in his dominions and encouraged 
learning there. * 3 

5. During the tenth century learning still flourished 
among the Arabians. But although Leo the Philosopher, 
and the ninth Constantine, patronised and encouraged it, 
it nevertheless declined under the later emperors of the east 
during this century. In the west ignorance lamentably 
prevailed. This was, indeed the age of iron to the Latins; 


1 Mosheim’s Eccles. Hist., vol. ii, p. 287, et passim. 

3 Ibid^vol. ii, p. 289, et passim. 




LEARNING IN THE TENTH CENTURY. 


107 


yet in the eastern provinces schools were founded and a few 
learned men were found. 1 It was during this century that 
the Arabic numeral cyphers were introduced into Europe. 
Towards the close of this century the genius of pope Sylvester 
the Second brought about a restoration of learning. He 
was a mathematician, obtaining his knowledge of numbers 
from the Arabians. He himself wrote a book on geometry. 
Those who wished to acquire a learned education now 
travelled into Spain and Italy to obtain it from the Arabians. 



1 Mosheim’s Eccles. Hist., vol. ii, p. 390, et passim. 




108 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


CHAPTER IX. 

MONASTERIES. 

1. In studying the history of any art or science we are 
naturally inquisitive to know, not only its inventor and im¬ 
provers, hut also the circumstances with which the discoverers 
were surrounded whilst making their investigations. It is 
not enough for us to know the country in which they were 
born, the position they held in society, or even their private 
character, but every incident in connection with them 
becomes of absorbing interest. Their homes, their habits, 
their companions, the facilities at their command for ad¬ 
vancing the particular objects in view, all claim their share 
of our attention. Thus it is with the subject before us. 
"We hear Caedmon Aldhelm, Bede and Alcuin, spoken of as 
learned men; but this is not enough: we desire to know 
how and where they obtained the knowledge they possessed; 
where and upon what conditions learning generally was to 
be obtained. The subject is indeed involved in darkness. 
The writers of the day generally recorded those events which 
were then considered of primary interest. A battle, or a 
miracle, received due attention; whilst many of those 
matters which we now wish to enquire into, as for instance, 
the particulars of their manners and customs, are only men¬ 
tioned incidentally. The great events of the times generally 
attract the attention of the historian, as well as of the con¬ 
temporary people for whom he writes; whilst those minor 
matters which make up the real history of a nation, as of an 
individual, are left untouched, or receive only a passing 
notice. It is only when a people begin to think more 
rationally; when civilization is advanced, and newspapers 
and pamphlets appear; when nature in its more dignified 
phase begins to assert its proper sway, that men perceive 
the value of those institutions which their forefathers despised 


MONASTERIES. 


109 


or neglected, and thinking, employ their pens upon them. 
There were learned men amongst the Saxons. How and 
where was their learning obtained ? From the scanty and 
scattered materials which remain to us I will by and bye 
endeavour to reply. 

2. Amongst the ignorant, learning is generally valued at 
a low standard. Who has not, even in our own day, met 
the man who considered learning a fit application for school 
boys only ? How much more prevalent must that idea have 
been when ignorance was so general! To write for the 
amusement or instruction of a people successfully is to study 
their tastes and pamper their appetites. To write a work 
in the early days of Saxon learning, when the universal 
standard of the reader’s mind was so low, with the expecta¬ 
tion of getting that work read, was to appeal to the passions 
in the fiery language of poetry; to interest the mind with 
narrations of military exploits; to affect the heart with 
details of monkish superstitions. Thus are the histories of 
the times teeming with fabulous narrations, or with the 
monotonous repetition of uninteresting military adventures. 
Thus the domination of an arbitrary churchman is minutely 
depicted, whilst the occupation of the “ sons of toil ” is left 
unnoticed. The sack of a monastery is circumstantially 
related, whilst the character of the inner life of one of its 
members is left for our shrewd guess. We know more of 
the beauties of the situation of a monastery; more of the 
privileges of its inmates, than of the inhabitants of a village, 
or of the situation and employment of the children of the 
masses. As monasteries were the seminaries of the times, 
let us briefly enquire into their history and character. 

3. Under the persecution of the Eoman emperor Decius, 
(a.d. 249—251) and his immediate successors, many persons 
who from a love of solitude, and a careful solicitude for their 
own lives, retired to deserts in such numbers that they 
“almost destroyed the solitude they sought.” Believing 
that in solitary places they could more faithfully serve their 
Creator, and knowing that in such places personal safety 
was more secure, many forsook the world and secluded 
themselves from mankind. Amongst this number we may 
distinguish Ammon, who during the third century retired to 


110 


ENGLAND EEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


a mountain in Egypt; Antony, 1 who about the commence¬ 
ment of the fourth century secluded himself for twenty 
years, and then preached to the people, who flocked to hear 
him, on the advantages of domestic life; and St. Basil, who 
about the middle of the fourth century retired to Pontus, 
after travelling and visiting many foreign monasteries, and 
there caused many monasteries to be founded, and formed a 
set of rules for the guidance of the monks. These rules 
enforce the necessity of charity towards the poor, moderation 
in food and dress, obedience to superiors, confession to 
priests, and patient industry. They descend to great minute¬ 
ness of detail with regard to admissions, and the daily be¬ 
haviour of monks, especially towards their superiors. 2 The 
system of Basil was rigorous in the extreme, exalting good 
works and favouring the idea that the due performance of 
them would render the actors independent of a crucified 
Saviour for salvation. St. Basil died in the year a.d. 378. 
During this century monkery rose into great repute. The 
monks w r ere of two classes, those who lived as hermits, 3 apart 
from communion with mankind, termed Anchorites and 
Eremites, and those who associated themselves in bodies, 
termed Cscnobites. 4 

4. Monachism, originating in the east, passed silently 
into the west, and made its appearance in Italy, as some 
writers affirm, in the year a.d. 340. St. Martin erected the 
first monastery in Gfaul soon after his election to the bishop¬ 
ric of Tours in the year a.d. 374, 5 by whose disciples the 


1 St. Anthony was the first who formed the solitaires, or monks, into a regular 
body and framed rules for them. Although these were concocted in Egypt, they 
were introduced by his disciple Hilarion into Palestine and Syria, whilst Eugenius 
about the same time introduced the monastic order into Mesopotamia. “Their 
example was followed with such rapid success that in a short time the whole east 
was filled with a lazy set of mortals, who abandoning all human connections, advan¬ 
tages, pleasures, and concerns, wore out a languishing and miserable life amidst the 
hardships of want and various kinds of suffering, in order to arrive at a more close 
and rapturous communion with God and angels.”—Mosheim’s Eccles. Hist. vol. i, 
p. 378. 

2 Fox’s History of English Monasteries. 

3 Hermits were not uncommon in Egypt, Syria, India, and Mesopotamia before 
our Saviour’s coming.- Moslieim’s Eccles. Hist., vol. i, p. 275. 

4 Wilkinson’s Catechism of Church History.—The Anchorites practised the mo'st 
excessive severity. They dwelt in the -wildest places, had no houses, and lived on 
herbs and roots. Another class, the Sarabaites, were a set of impostors. They 
tratliced in relics. At first they were laymen, but were afterwards admitted 
amongst the number of the clergy.— Mosheim’s Eccles. Hist., vol. i, p. 381. 

5 Monkery spread so rapidly that St. Martin’s funeral was attended by 200b 
monks. Mosheim’s Eccles. Hist., vol. i, p. 378. 





MONASTERIES. 


Ill 


monasteries in England are supposed to have been founded. 
These monasteries soon became “ schools and seminaries of 
sound and useful learning.” The monastery at Bangor 
(Iscoed, in Flintshire) early became celebrated, in which, 
Bede informs us, there was so great a number of monks that 
the monastery being divided into seven parts, with a ruler 
over each, none of those parts contained less than three 
hundred men who all lived by the labour of their hands. 1 As 
early as the second century there appears to have been a 
school established here, which soon acquired an important 
reputation. It has been asserted that in this school Pelagius 
was educated, 2 though this appears to be a mistake, as it was 
probably at Bangor, in Ireland, where he received his educa¬ 
tion. 3 This monastery was destroyed by the pagan king 
Ethelfrid. 4 In the fifth century St. David is said to have 
established twelve monasteries in Wales. 5 During the sixth 
century, Daniel, the last abbot of Bangor, in Flintshire, 
established a school in Caernarvonshire, which he distinguished 
by the name of Bangor, and which was at length elevated to 
a bishopric. 

5. Monkery was introduced into Ireland by St. Patrick, 
who landed there a.d. 432. 6 St. Brigid, Columba, and 
others, favoured their extension. The sixth and seventh 
centuries, indeed, were the periods of monastic increase and 
opulence in Ireland. In the seventh century we have a 
most favourable picture of the literary state of that island 
in comparison with that of England. Bede says that at this 
time many persons, both rich and poor, passed over to 


1 -‘The early monasteries contained preachers, teachers, and artificers. This gave 
them an amazing power to evangelize. They formed an independent communion, 
and the heathen heat'd the gospel and satv its possessors far beyond them in civiliza¬ 
tion. Thus the monastery ditfused both an acquaintance with useful arts and a 
knowledge of Christ.” 

2 Warrington, vol. ii, pp. 366-375, on the authority of Roland’s Mona. 

3 Moore’s History of Ireland, vol. i, p. 206. 

4 Bede, lib. ii, c. 2 

5 During the fifth century the monks of the east began to rise into importance, 
great privileges being now granted to them. But they had as yet no settled rule. 
Thus some followed the rule of Augustine, others that of Basil, Antony, Athanasius, 
or Pachomius. We are told that during the sixth century they so increased in num¬ 
bers -‘that whole armies might have been raised out of the monastic order, without 
any sensible diminution of that enormous body.” Congall, a British abbot, about 
this time persuaded the people to abandon all industrial employments, and to engage 
in religious acts in solitude. His disciples swarmed throughout Ireland, Gaul, 
German)', and Switzerland. - Mosheim, vol, ii, p, 32, et passim. 

6 Bede, p. 214. 




112 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


Ireland to prosecute their studies, where they were supplied 
"by the Scots (Irish) with books to read and teaching gratis. 1 

6. In the year 635, Aidan was invited by Oswald of 
Northumbria to England, and monasteries were forthwith 
founded here. St. Columba introduced the system into 
Scotland. The celebrated Theodore and Adrian greatly 
favoured the system of monachism. In the different monas¬ 
teries, at home and abroad, the rules of government were 
most diverse; some adopting those of Basil, others following 
the rules laid down for their government by Eructuosus, 
Isidore, Johannes Gerundinensis, and Columba. The monas¬ 
teries of Weremouth and Jarrow soon attained distinction. 
Bounded by Benedict, Jarrow became the abode of the 
venerable Bede, who there provided for us that inestimable 
literary treasure, his Ecclesiastical History, the chief 
authority we possess of the affairs relating to the history of 
our country previously to his time. Asceticism received a 
great stimulus in the seventh century by the devotion of an 
increasing number of people to monastic life, and by the 
erection of many new monasteries, as w r ell as by the repair 
of the old ones. 

7. The barbarous invasions of the Danes were the greatest 
evils the monasteries had to bear at this early period. 
Liberally endowed, and thus enabled to possess the good 
things of this life in abundance, they offered tempting prizes 
to these cruel plunderers. Not content with robbing these 
hospitable mansions of their wealth, and murdering their 
inmates, the Danes completed their depredations by commit- 
ing the buildings themselves to the flames. Yet they were 
speedily rebuilt in a more elegant style, through the liberality 
of some generous penitent. 

8. We must now approach the period of the revival of 
monachism, and the new phase it took. Dunstan’s history 
is the true history of monkery. His life was a great struggle 
for its re-organization and increase. Commanding the 
purses and wills of successive sovereigns, zealous for the 
church to which he belonged, and ardently attached to 
monkery, he was admirably adapted for the execution of his 
design. Erom the time when he was appointed abbot of 


1 Lib. iii, c. 27. 






MONASTERIES. 


113 


Glastonbury to his death he laboured incessantly in the 
cause. Numbers of monasteries were established and 
restored at his instigation, and munificently endowed. The 
first that may be mentioned was Glastonbury, which was in 
a most dilapidated condition during the reign of Edmuud. 
By Dunstan’s persuasion it was restored, and himself ap¬ 
pointed abbot. During the reigns of Edred and Edgar the 
greatest efforts were made to erect and restore monasteries, 
and wealth was lavished upon them with princely liber¬ 
ality. Glastonbury, Croyland, Peterborough, Abingdon, 
Chester, and many other abbeys, shared largely in the favour 
of one or both of these princes. Forty monasteries are said 
to have been founded by Edgar himself. Thus were they 
multiplied in number, and increased in size, splendour, and 
wealth. The Benedictine rules, as modified by Dunstan, 
were introduced and strictly enforced, producing the most 
lamentable effects. 

9. St. Benedict, who composed the “ Eegula Mona- 
chorum,” was born in Italy, in the year a.d. 480. Educated 
at Eome, he afterwards retired to a desert, and was at length 
chosen abbot of a neighbouring monastery. Disliking the 
regulations, he returned to his solitude, where he was be¬ 
sieged with admirers, and at length established no less than 
twelve of those institutions. He retired to Monte Cassino 
in the year a.d. 528 or 530, and there founded another 
monastery, and composed the rules referred to above. 1 Dun¬ 
stan, however, modified these rules ere he introduced them 
into England. Among other things, the Benedictine rules, 
as introduced into the English monasteries, enforced the 
strict obedience of the monks to their abbot. The juniors 
were to treat the seniors with every respect. The abbot 
was elected by the whole society, but appointed the prior 
himself. He was to seek the advice of the monks in times 
of difficulty. He was allowed to administer corporal punish¬ 
ment for faults, if other means of correction failed. Among 
the punishments awarded may be mentioned, separation from 
the brethren at table, prayer, &c. Silence was strictly en¬ 
joined, no one beiug allowed to speak unasked. “The head 
and the eyes to be inclined downwards.” Midnight service 


1 English Cyclopaedia, McIntosh’s History of England, rol. i. p. 48. 

I 




114 


ENGLAND DEFOEE THE CONQUEST. 


was to be performed. The inmates were to sleep with their 
clothes on. No private property was allowed. On Saturdays 
those who had served for the week, and those who w r ere 
newly appointed, were to clean all the plate, for which an 
extra allowance of victuals was given. One pound of bread 
and three quarters of a pint of wine were allowed to each 
daily. Their working hours were prescribed by rule. When 
on a journey they were to say the appointed services. 
Strangers were to be kindly received. 1 

9. Alfric, archbishop of Canterbury, and Edward the 
Confessor warmly supported monachism. During the reign 
of the Norman princes the system was exposed to frequent 
fluctuations—now flourishing, now depressed. Upon the 
death of an abbot the revenues of the abbacy were not un- 
frequently retained by the king during pleasure. The 
immense wealth here accumulated became the object of 
covetous desire to the powerful, till at length the unscrupu¬ 
lous rapacity of a licentious and profligate monarch accom¬ 
plished their destruction. 

10. When we reflect upon the munificent endowments 
of our ancestors, we are naturally tempted to enquire into 
the causes of that feeling which induced them so liberally 
to expend their temporal wealth upon religious institutions. 
Without attempting to enter into a lengthened disquisition 
upon this topic, it will be in accordance with my design to 
dismiss the subject with the following brief remarks. At 
the period we are referring to, the minds of men were 
tinctured with the belief, artfully inculcated by the priests, 
that man was capable of meriting God’s favour by his own 
good works; that in proportion to his charitable endow¬ 
ments were his rewards, forgetting that the Bible declares 
that when we have done all we are but unprofitable servants. 
Man’s naturally guilty conscience, stung by recent sin, 
would induce him gladly to compound for his offences by the 
sacrifice of a portion of bis earthly riches. And at this 
time “ bounty to the church atoned for every violence, against 
society, and the remorses for cruelty, murder, treachery, 
assassination; and the more robust vices were appeased, 1 not 
by amendment of life, but by penances, servility to .the 


1 Fos’s English Monasteries,.p. 99. 





MONASTERIES. 


115 


monks, and an abject and illiberal devotion.” 1 Thus, for the 
quieting of his conscience, he would found and endow some 
monastic establishment. How often are we reminded of the 
liberality of some prince towards the church, who has com¬ 
mitted some base crime. What was the life of Edgar but a 
compound Vith the monks, in the shape of gifts of land, 
for indulgence granted to him for his licentious habits ? Yet 
again when the horrid doctrine of purgatory, and the neces¬ 
sity of prayers for the dead, were insisted upon, in direct 
violation of the scripture, the death-bed sinner would gladly 
dispose of that wealth which he could no longer enjoy to the 
priests, who would perform spiritual services for his departed 
soul. Whilst a few who had the welfare of their fellow 
creatures at heart would contribute towards the establish¬ 
ment of popular colleges, where teachers might be trained 
for the instruction of mankind. These were a few of the mo¬ 
tives which urged men to a liberal distribution of their wealth. 
Having thus briefly related the history of the establishment 
of monasteries, 1 must now briefly allude to the occupation 
of the inmates of these religious houses. Who can calmly 
inspect the ruins of such venerable abbeys as remain 
among us ? What emotions are they calculated to excite ! 
Here in some sequestered nook, amidst the sylvan beauties 
of nature, did they once tower in majestic pride. There 
rolls some gentle rivulet, whose waters were decoyed to form 
some placid lake for the preservation of the finny tribe. 
Here trolled the inmates, as well for the supply of the table 
as for their own amusement. A dry ditch is perhaps alone 
left to mark a spot once an object of so much anxiety to its 
masters. There lie the ruined and perhaps beautifully 
carved fragments of the mouldering walls of the once noble 
structure. There some weather-beaten image reminds us 
of the tastes of its erectors. The decayed building still 
bears ample testimony to its former grandeur. In those 
green meadows once roamed men now amongst the pious 
dead. Those shady lanes were once trod by the destitute 
beggar, the persecuted unfortunate, and the benighted 
traveller. By those gateways were they all admitted, and 
by huge fireplaces were their hearts made glad with temporal 


1 Hume, vol, i, p> 48. 



116 


ENGLAND BEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 


comforts and spiritual advice. None were turned empty 
away. In this apartment were kings and nobles handsomely 
entertained, received such ghostly and sage advice, were so 
impressed by the apparent zeal of the humble self-denying 
monks, that extensive domains were profusely awarded to 
their already rich possessions. Whilst treading f the dust of 
some once venerated image, our thoughts are involuntarily 
turned on ages past. The monotonous midnight chant, 
the choir of sacred music, are now almost reverberating in 
our ears. The uplifted rod is still inflicting penance upon 
some sorely lacerated frame. In that compartment perhaps 
once sat those scriptores to whom we are indebted for what 
knowledge we possess of the days of yore. The vellum roll 
is before them. How beautiful its transcriptions! How 
brilliant those ornamental paintings which adorn it! No 
rattling of printers’ types, no steam printing press is there : 
all is done by the persevering efforts of a skilful hand. Here 
is their school for the instruction of youth. The rich and 
the noble are the pupils. No poor peasant boy was here to 
have his natural faculties developed; this is a boon reserved 
only for princes. Do we question our imagination as to 
their subjects of instruction ? The reply is involved Latin 
sentences are being unravelled. We hear the tones of 
rhetoric enthusiastically resounding, or the sweet notes of 
music intoned. The scholastic drudgery of elementary 
reading and writing attempted. The modern curriculum of 
studies was unknown. There we may see some venerable 
monk poring over elaborate MMS. of classic lore or modern 
history, or recording annals for the instruction of future 
ages. But turn we to another part of the building, and we 
here may picture the kitchen, the refectory, or the banquet- 
ting hall. It cannot be the season of Lent, for we are 
tempted to believe that the feasting and rejoicings of the 
inmates are still heard and seen by us. The old abbot him¬ 
self even indulges in the good cheer which abounds. Or 
turn we again to another part of the building and the black¬ 
smith’s hammer and the carpenter’s saw are here fast 
plying. 1 In this garden w r ere the culinary requirements of 


1 One of St. Basil’s rules requires the monks to apply themselves to handicrafts 
that they may render themsolves useful to others. 



MONASTERIES. 


117 


the kitchen reared by the industry of the inmates: here 
were those bright gems of nature, “nature’s eyes,” blooming 
in perfection, and tended by the careful hand of some 
monkish botanist. 1 Such is a faint picture of a monastery 
in those early times. 

11. Had not monasteries existed in those days, no history 
of the events then enacted could have reached us. Ho tittle 
of learning could have been perpetuated, when private 
homes were insecure, and public seminaries unknown. 
Personal exertion could not have supplied the desideratum, 
when books, the basis of instruction, could only be obtained 
by a rich and powerful community. In monasteries were 
the schools ; in monasteries the instructors ; in monasteries 
the authors and printers of the times. 2 The great and the 
noble were the patrons of these venerable institutions, to 
which, notwithstanding their abuses in after times, we can¬ 
not help glancing without a lingering attachment. Por 
these were the only sure places of refuge to the persecuted, 
the only safe asylum for virtue, the only homes of relief for 
the destitute, the only hospitals for the afflicted, the only 
repositories of learning. The monks were the lawyers, 
offering counsel to the would-be litigants. They were the 
only physicians, for they only had time and the necessary 
qualifications for the study of the properties of herbs. They 
were the artists, the painters, architects, and sculptors, and 
their attainments in these respects were often of no mean 
order. They, as I before said, were the chroniclers of the 
times, and the schoolmasters of such as desired education, 
and women were often amongst the number of such. 3 
Monasteries were the most noble institutions of the day— 
their inmates the most respected of mankind. 


1 Bede’s Eccles. Hist., lib. ii, c. 2. 

2 See Osborne’s Anglia Sacra. 

3 Kemble’s Saxons in England, vol. ii. p. 432, et seq.—Bede, H. E. 



118 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


CHAPTER X. 

THE DANES IN ENGLAND 

1. Although England was at the early period of which 
we write a nominally Christian land, yet pagan manners were 
still retained, and national vices still cherished. The Saxons 
were a drunken people. 1 Deeply did they imbibe the 
poisonous draught which has hurled more victims to an un¬ 
timely grave than the ambition of the conqueror, or the 
scourging pestilence. The rude blast may shake and uproot 
the towering though feeble-rooted tree—the overwhelming 
torrent may sweep the house built upon sand from its inse¬ 
cure resting place ; but it is the incessant roll of the ocean 
wave that dissolves the rocky barrier and permanently sub¬ 
merges the continental home. Thousands of soldiers may 
perish in a single campaign, yet their loss may be estimated 
and their fatal end suitably lamented; but the millions who 
yearly perish through the fatal seductions of drink, waste 
away unheeded. The Saxons were a drunken people. What 
of their descendants, the English of the present day ? Is 
not an Englishman’s name, associated as it is with all that is 
brave, enlightened, and free, connected with the nation’s 
curse—drunkenness? Alas! too true. 1 he Saxon character 
in this respect, as in many others, is too truly maintained. 
But cold-blooded national murder had yet to be added to 


1 In a fragment of Anglo-Saxon poetry, quoted by Turner, -we have a description 
of a Saxon feast. Holofernes, the principal character, is thus represented : 

“ So was the wicked one all day, 

The lord and his men, 

Drunk with wine, 

The stern dispenser of wealth. 

Till that they swimming lay 
Over drunk, 

All his nobility, 

As they were death slain.” 

tl They were accustomed to eat till they became surfeited, and to drink till they 
were sick.”—Wm. of Malmesbury. 



THE DANES IN ENGLAND. 


119 


the previous crimes of the Saxons, ere the thunderbolt of 
vengeance with overwhelming fury was to be hurled upon 

them. 

2. The Danes, or Northmen, belonged to the great Teu¬ 
tonic wave of migration, and were consequently closely 
allied to the Saxons of England and the victors of Nor¬ 
mandy. The conquerors of the ancient Britons now jealously 
guarded their acquired territory from further depredations 
of their countrymen. The Saxons upon their arrival in 
England were, as has before been related, pagans, gradually 
embracing Christianity through the efforts of the Roman 
missionaries. The Danish tribes inhabited the more northern 
portion of the western side of Europe, their most southern 
territory being the present duchy of Sleswick. 1 A sufficient 
cause of enmity to their kinsmen, the Saxons, is found in 
the fact of the latter people having embraced Christianity. 2 
The motive which induced them to invade the territories of 
the Franks and Saxons was undoubtedly a desire for plunder, 
which gradually increased into a wish to obtain a settled 
home. Driven from their own habitations by their parents 
in search of fortune, they mercilessly plundered any unwary 
or unprotected people. Success attending their efforts, they 
at length acquired possessions in the countries they had 
devastated. In a future chapter of this work we propose 
briefly to narrate the conquests of the Norman Rollo, and 
the history of his successors. For the present we are con¬ 
cerned with the Danes who finally obtained possession of 
our island home. 

3. The history of the Saxon kings, from the time of the 
politic Egbert to the reign of the Ironside Edmund, is but a 
recapitulation of bloody battles with the Danes, educiug 
Saxon bravery or exposing Saxon weakness. The bravery 
and prudence of Alfred; the caution and skill of Ethelfleda; 
the power of Athelstan, could but afford a temporary respite 
to the incessant attacks of the Danish pirates; and had not 
Rollo directed the attention of his countrymen to the 
Frankish territory, England would in all probability have 
much earlier succumbed to these northern barbarians. To 


1 Latbam. 

2 Thierry’s Norman Conquest, lib. ii. 




120 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


give a detailed narration of the different invasions of the 
Daues would be but a tedious repetition of much that has 
already been said, I shall therefore content myself with 
taking up our national history at the death of Edmund 
Ironside and the accession of Canute, premising a few 
remarks upon the motives which rendered the Danish con¬ 
quest so comparatively easy. 

4. The Danes had left their continental home because 
their increasing populations could not be sustained in a 
comparatively barren country by their imperfect system of 
agriculture. 1 Dwelling where the waves of the Atlantic 
rushed wildly upon a rocky shore, they early became inured 
to danger and acquired a taste for a seafearing life. In the 
words of Sharon Turner, “ The whole nation abhorred tears 
and wailing, and never wept for a dying friend.” 2 Possess¬ 
ing great physical strength, invincible courage, and indomi¬ 
table perseverance, they at length subdued the Anglo-Saxon 
people and obtained the reins of power when the valour of 
Athelstan had decayed, the unity of Horsa and his followers 
had been destroyed, and to the piety and prudence of Alfred 
had succeeded the brutal treachery of Ethelred. They im¬ 
ported among the worn out and disorganized Saxons vigour, 
strength, and order. 3 The murder of Edward, the mutila¬ 
tion of Elfrida, the massacre of the Danes, and the licentious¬ 
ness of the people, were visited with immediate and signal 
retribution, unmistakeably exemplifying the truth of the 
proverb “ Though hand join in hand the wicked shall not go 
unpunished.” 

5. Many concurrent circumstances favoured the invasions 
of the Danes. Making their first appearance in England in 
the reign of Egbert, ere the establishment of a monarchy had 
consolidated the resources of the people, or enabled the 
generals to concentiate the whole forces at their disposal 
and act with common energy, they acquired advantages 
which they might not otherwise have obtained. When the 
country was distracted by party intrigue and internal dis¬ 
sensions—when the ancient Britons, although driven into 
the mountains of Wales, the forests of Cornwall, or the 


1 Worsaae’s Danes and Northmen, p. 16. 

2 History of Middle Ages, yoI. i, p. 29, 

3 Introduction to Rollo and his race, p. xii. 



CANUTE. 


I 


121 


heights of Cumberland, yet still unsubdued, were continually 
harassing them, 1 —the Danish raven could often appear 
conspicuously victorious. The Welsh, the Cornish, and the 
Cumbrians, the refugees from eastern and southern Britain, 
were the natural enemies of the Saxons, and often were they 
found, if not actually arrayed under the banners of the 
Danes, yet rendering them all the assistance of interested 
allies. 2 Now furnishing the Danish rovers with food and 
shelter,—now descending with their native forces upon the 
cultivated Saxon lands, and escaping with plunder, they 
distracted the attention of the Saxon rulers, and rendered a 
division of their not too powerful forces necessary. In later 
times, when by their own powerful influence, and the weak¬ 
ness or ill-judged prudence of Saxon monarchs, the Danes 
were admitted to a share of the Saxons’ acquired territory, a 
basis for future successful expeditions of the Danes was 
formed. And though instances are not wanting when a 
Danish Brithnotk fought for the maintenance of the people’s 
independence against new hordes of adventurers, yet more 
frequently are the Danish settlers found following the 
fortunes of some kinsman adventurer. Disagreement 
amongst themselves, and the enmity existing against the 
Danish settlers, were favourable circumstances for the 
pirates of the north. 

6. The massacre of the Danes by the weak and misguided 
Ethelred induced the powerful Sweyn to undertake to avenge 
his injured countrymen. His premature death was no great 
loss to the Danish cause, leaving, as he did, so able a succes¬ 
sor in the person of his son Canute. Edmund Ironside 
being cut off by the treachery of his countrymen, the un¬ 
disputed sovereignty of England was left to the powerful 
Canute. 

7. Eew conquerors have left behind them a character so 
well deserving of the title of “great” as Canute. To rule 
a people so heterogeneous in character as the inhabitants of 
England were at this period required no small amount of 
prudence and decision; and the difficulty of accomplishing 
this object was of course greater to a usurper than to a 


1 Worsaae, p. 5. 

2 Worsaae, p. 8. 



122 ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 

hereditary sovereign. But Canute seemed born to command. 
He bad the requisite persuasive eloquence to attach a subject 
to a monarch, and the power to enforce the suggestions of 
his will; and although he at first appears before us as a 
barbarian, he afterwards evinces the character of an en¬ 
lightened sovereign. He thus furnishes a singular example 
of a king rapidly passing from barbarism to civilization and 
Christianity. Though not without failings sufficient to 
demonstrate his alliance with the sons of earth, yet the 
general tenor of his character was even and exemplary, and 
may consequently be studied with profit by all who are 
anxious to tread the path of rectitude. In pursuing his 
history we must bear in mind that it has been handed down 
to us by Saxon writers, who were the inveterate enemies of 
the Danes, and we must consequently make great allowances 
for many of their descriptions. 

8. Upon the death of Edmund, the Saxon Wittenagemot 
was assembled, and, overawed by the power of the new 
monarch, feebly upheld the rights of the Saxon princes, the 
sons of Edmund. To obtain better treatment for them than 
they had reason to expect, the Saxon nobles are represented 
to have interpreted the will of Edmund in favour of Canute’s 
acting as regent for them until they should obtain their 
majority. 1 Perhaps this conduct saved the young princes 
from a premature grave. Canute doubtless desired their 
death. But how was this to be accomplished ? If the 
young princes died in England, their death would be 
ascribed to the king, and he must expect nothing but 
irreconcilable enmity from his Saxon subjects, and eternal 
obloquy from mankind. He consequently entrusted them to 
the care of a petty Scandinavian prince, intimating, it is 
said, his will with regard to their ultimate end. If he ex¬ 
pected that the Swedish king would put them to death, he 
was mistaken, for that prince entrusted them to the care of 
Solomon, king of Hungary, where they were treated with 
honourable distinction. Edwin (or Edmund, as he is called 
in Hoveden) soon died, whilst the younger, Edward, obtained 
the hand of Agatha, sister of the queen, and daughter of 
Henry, second emperor of Germany, the issue of which 


1 Hoveden. 





CANUTE. 


123 


marriage was Edgar Atheling, Margaret, who afterwards 
married the king of Scotland, and Christiana. 

9. One of Canute’s first actions displays the sagacity of 
his mind and his abhorrence of the criminal actions of an 
intriguer. Thus the traitor Edric was not long in receiving 
the reward to which his treacherous service entitled him. 
Some say that having compassed the death of Edmund, he 
hastened to Canute to obtain the reward he considered 
himself to have merited, by securing to Canute the undivided 
sovereignty of England, but that Canute justly deeming 
such a traitor too dangerous a friend, had him instantly put 
to death. Others state that having been deprived of Mercia, 
he appeared before Canute, insolently demanding reparation, 
upon which he was despatched. In either - case, punish¬ 
ment at length overtook him. Several other traitors expe¬ 
rienced a similar fate, Norman, Ethel wold, and a certain 
Edwy, being amongst the number. 1 The policy of Canute 
in thus punishing these cowardly traitors is parallel with 
that of David as recorded in sacred writ, and with that of 
Bichard I. hereafter to be noticed. 

10. Upon his accession to the throne, Canute divided 
England into four parts, 2 Edric obtairpng Mercia, Thurkill, 
East Anglia, and Eric, Northumbria; reserving to himself 
the kingdom of the West Saxons. This was evidently a 
politic act, though intended but as a temporary arrangement; 
for the authority of these men was but a shadow, and of 
brief duration,-—Edric being soon slain, and Thurkill and 
Eric banished the kingdom. Thus did Canute rid himself 
of men whose # birth, power, or previous conduct, rendered 
them objects of jealousy or fear. 

11. Canute’s next step was as wisely conceived as it was 
successfully executed. Alfred and Edward, the two sons of 
Ethelred, had taken refuge with their uncle, Bichard of 
Normandy. Bichard had declared that he would replace 
them in their lawful inheritance, and actually fitted out a 
fleet for that purpose. But a storm shattered the vessels, 
which was regarded as a significant omen that such an 
expedition should not have been undertaken, and rendered 


1 Henry of Huntingdon. 

2 Anglo-Saxon.Chron. 



124 ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 

Richard disposed to listen with a favourable ear to the 
advances which Canute made for the hand of Emma, the 
widow of Ethelred. The alliance of such a sovereign as 
Canute was not to be despised by Richard; the offer of the 
hand of such a warrior was not to be rejected with disdain 
by the forlorn Emma, even though he had been the chief 
cause of the evils of her husband’s family. He proposed 
and was accepted, and the marriage was celebrated to the 
great inward joy of the Saxon people, who expected naturally 
expect an alleviation of their sufferings from such an 
auspicious event. They were not disappointed. Though 
apparently indifferent to the future fortunes of her family, 
she appears to have exercised her influence in behalf of the 
suffering Saxons. 1 

12. ijpon his accession to the throne, Canute had a large 
Danish army in England, and was compelled to collect im¬ 
mense sums of money from the distressed and dispirited 
Saxons for its maintenance. It is probable that he did this 
by no means unwillingly. London had long remained faith¬ 
ful to the declining fortunes of Ethelred. London had long 
held the Danish forces in check, and it could not be but 
gratifying to semi-barbarous pride to impose upon Londoners 
a heavy penalty for their faithfulness. Canute, moreover, 
had not yet adopted those measures of prudent conciliation 
and praiseworthy impartiality which won for him the good 
opinion of the conquered, and affixed to his memory the sur¬ 
name of “ great.” But he was, as has been before remarked, 
a politic ruler, open to argument and conviction, and thus 
the gentle influence of his Norman wife was at length in¬ 
strumental (according to the ancient chroniclers) in pro¬ 
curing the dismissal of his Danish mercenaries. 2 

13. The Angles and Danes were now placed on the same 
footing, and both compelled to submit to the previously 
established Saxon laws. 3 Canute had sound reasons for this 
lenient course of procedure, independently of his home 
policy. He meditated an attack upon the Scandinavian 
territory, but he could not undertake to accomplish it if the 


1 Roger of Wendover. 

2 A. S. Chron., Hy. of Hun., Roger of Wen. 

3 A. S. Chron. 




CANUTE. 


125 


seeds of rebellion and discontent were manifest in bis newly 
acquired kingdom. All grounds of fear, on this bead, having 
been at length removed, however, he was at liberty to direct 
his attention to those foreign affairs which had doubtless 
long engrossed his attention and excited his ambition. 
Accordingly, in the year 1019, he left England for Denmark 
with forty vessels. 1 He took with him the flower of the 
Saxon nobility, that no powerful leader may excite rebellion, 
and direct the attention and resources of his once mortal 
enemies against the Danish government during his absence. 
And thus the singular fact becomes prominent, that notwith¬ 
standing the large proportion of his time which he spent 
away from England, no serious conspiracy threatened to 
subvert the authority so recently acquired. 

14. In the year 1024 Canute directed his forces against 
the Swedes, but was defeated by them in a great battle. 2 
He did not, however, despair of finally triumphing over 
them, and accordingly resolved to give them battle again on 
.the morrow. He was anticipated, however, by the English 
general, Godwin, who accompanied him, and who, leading 
his English forces against the enemy during the night, sur¬ 
prised and routed them. 3 This, we are told, procured for him 
an earldom, and laid the foundation of his future greatness. 4 
In the year 1028, Canute went with fifty ships to Norway, 
driving its king (Olave) out, and subjugating the country. 5 

15. Canute’s was a life of ceaseless incident. His was 
a mind whose qualities could not remain dormant. No 
sooner had he subjugated the Scandinavian people than he 
determined to present himself in person before the sovereign 
pontiff at Eome, and thither in 1031 he accordingly pro¬ 
ceeded. 6 This was perhaps the most happy undertaking of 
his reign for the Saxon people. There was frequent com¬ 
munication between the English and Eoman churches in 
those early days. At Eome there was an English school. 
In the eternal city there yet remained many monuments of 
its ancient grandeur to attract the curious and studious. 


1 A. S. Chron. Hy. of Huntingdon says he went there to fight with the Vandals. 

2 A, S. Chron, 

3 Roger of Wendover. 

4 Wm. of Malmesbury. 

5 A. S. Chron. 

6 A. S. Chron. 




126 ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 

Imperishable works of art still beautified it, and many of the 
sages of the age were still concentrated there. But many 
were the impediments to be overcome ere the capital of the 
world could be reached. Independently of the physical 
difficulties ox the journey, when no Napoleon had arisen to 
make a highway across the snowy summits and rugged defiles 
of the Alps, there was the plunder of native princes, through 
whose territories the traveller must needs pass to be anti¬ 
cipated. Canute’s representations whilst at Borne to the 
emperor Bodolph, and certain other petty princes whom he 
happened to meet there, were effectual in procuring the 
removal of these exactions. IJpon the appointment of an 
English archbishop he was compelled to go to Borne to re¬ 
ceive the pall, which entailed upon him a very heavy expense* 
Canute indignantly complained of this exaction to the pope, 
and procured future exemption from the grievance. 1 He 
also obtained the pope’s promise that the tribute heretofore 
paid by the English school at Borne should be abolished. 2 

16. His visit to Borne appears to have had a very great 
influence upon his mind, as his epistle (transcribed by 
"William of Malmesbury, from which I have drawn the in¬ 
formation in the last paragraph, and which was transmitted 
by the hand of Living to the English people before his own 
return to England) abundantly proves. I cannot, therefore, 
resist the desire to extract the following portion of it for the 
benefit of my readers. “ Be it known then, that since I 
(Canute) have vowed to God himself to reform my life in all 
things, and justly and piously to govern the kingdoms and 
the people subject to me, and to maintain equal justice in 
all things; and have determined, through God’s assistance, 
to rectify anything hitherto unjustly clone, either through 
the intemperance of my youth, or through negligence; 
therefore I call to witness, and command my counsellors to 
whom I have entrusted the counsels of my kingdom, that 
they by no means, either through fear of myself or favour to 
any powerful person, suffer, henceforth, any injustice, or 
cause such to be . done in all my kingdom. Moreover, I 
command all sheriffs, or governors, throughout my whole 


1 William of Malmesbury. 

2 Roger of Wendover. 





CANUTE. 


127 


kingdom, as they tender my affection or their own safety, 
not to commit injustice towards any man, rich or poor; but 
to allow all, noble and ignorant, alike to enjoy impartial law, 
from which they are never to deviate, either on account of 
royal favour, the person of any powerful man, or for the 
sake of amassing money for myself: for I have no need to 
accumulate money by unjust exaction. 1 

17. Upon the return of Canute to England he led a 
hostile expedition against Malcolm, king of Scotland, and 
reduced him to a state of allegiance, thus nominally, at least, 
becoming king of England, Scotland, Denmark, Norway, 
and Sweden. 

18. The character of Canute appears in a variety of 
phases, according to the different periods of his life at which 
we view it. At first we observe a prudent and determined 
general, then a calculating prince. Now wielding the sword 
of justice and holding the balance of impartiality. Now the 
ambitious sovereign, and now the repentant son of the 
church. Of his literary character we unfortunately know 
little, yet that little is by no means unfavourable to him. 
We cannot expect to see a barbarian prince, springing from 
the bed of northern ignorance, imbued with zeal for the pro¬ 
motion of literature. We do not expect to see literary 
institutions flourishing under a king habituated to fighting, 
and whose latter days were spent in exposing himself and 
people to the battle-axe of northern barbarians. Yet we 
are told that he was a patron of literature. 2 3 Even a stanza 
of his own composition is still preserved. 

Merrily sang the monks within Ely, 

When that Canute, king, rowed thereby; 

Row, my knights, row near the land, 

And hear we these monks sing.”3 

19. Two anecdotes, illustrating the character of Canute, 
remain to be noticed ere we close the narrative of his history. 
To rebuke the flattery of his courtiers, we are told that upon 


' 1 Wm. of Malmesbury. 

2 Though his administration was harsh, he neglected no means of giving it a native 
colour. He even composed songs, which were sung alike by Saxons and Hanes. He 
patronized both the Latin literature of the monks and the native poetry of the 
Scalds. Mackintosh’s Hist. England, vol. i, p. 62, 

3 Knight's Popular Hist, Eng., vol. i, p. 157. 



128 ENGLAND BEEOBE THE CONQUEST. 

one occasion he ordered a seat to be placed for him by the 
seashore as the tide was rolling in, and commanded the sea 
not to roll over his land, or presume to wet its sovereign’s 
feet. The waters, however, neglected his command, and the 
king was compelled to flee from its fury, upon which he took 
occasion to rebuke his courtiers for their flattery, exclaiming, 
“ Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power 
of kings; for there is none worthy of the name but He 
whom heaven and earth and sea obey by eternal laws.” 
From that time the king is said to have worn his crown no 
more. 1 Upon another occasion we are told that he killed 
an innocent man, and accordingly he ordered his judges to 
award him the punishment due to his crime, which at that 
time consisted of a fine of forty talents of silver for murder. 
This the king not only agreed to pay, but increased the sum 
to three hundred and sixty talents, adding, moreover, nine 
talents of gold which were handed over to the surviving 
friends of the deceased. 2 Canute died in the year 1035. 3 

HAHOLD. 

20. If the name of Canute did honour to the Danish 
invaders, the names of his sons as much disgraced it. With 
the name of the first Harold is associated all that is low and 
and vile in human nature, without one redeeming quality. 
There is but one consideration which enables us to think in¬ 
dulgently of this Danish-Saxon prince, viz., the notices of 
him were all written by his enemies. These accounts may 
have been, and probably were, exaggerated: we may hope 
that they were. It is our province, however, to relate what 
the chroniclers say of him, and leave our readers to iorm an 
opinion upon the truth of their statements. 

21. Canute had three sons, Sweyn, Harold, and Hardi- 
canute. Sweyn obtained the Norwegian kingdom, and 
Harold the kingdom of England. At the time of Canute’s 
death party feeling ran high. The Danes in England were 
numerous, and, having been lately the dominant power, had 
acquired an extensive influence, especially in London and 


1 Hy. of Huntingdon, Roger of Wendover. 

2 Gleig. 

3 Anglo-Saxon Chron. 





HAROLD. 


129 


northern districts. They naturally desired a Danish sove¬ 
reign. Such an one was Harold, the son of Canute, by his 
first and probably Norwegian wife. 1 The Saxons were still, 
however, an important people, especially in the southern 
districts. They would have preferred a Saxon ruler, but 
Alfred and Edward, the sons of Ethelred, were in Nor¬ 
mandy. 2 Hardicanute, the son of Canute by Emma of 
Normandy, was in Denmark. Yet his claim was supported 
by Godwin and other Saxon nobles, whilst the claim of 
Harold was enforced by the Danish lords. Harold’s party 
was victorious, and in a council held at Oxford he was 
elected king 3 of the northern part of the island; whilst to 
Hardicanute was assigned the southern district, his mother, 
Emma, taking up her abode at Winchester and there up¬ 
holding his interests. Thus was a civil war avoided,—the 
probability of which at one time appeared so strong indeed 
that numbers of the people took refuge at Croyland, and 
there produced the greatest disturbance. 4 

22. Emma appears to have invited her sons Alfred and 
Edmund to Winchester, when a disturbance took place. 
Harold probably fancied that his crown was in jeopardy 
whilst the rightful Saxon heir to the throne was on English 
ground. Godwin appears to have been won over to Harold’s 
interest. 5 He, after having hurried on Alfred towards 
London for the avowed purpose of obtaining an interview 
with king Harold, detained him and placed him in close 
custody. Hoveden thus speaks of this event: “ Some of his 
attendants he dispersed, some he placed in chains and after¬ 
wards put out their eyes; some he scalped and tortured, and 
deprived of their hands and feet by cutting them off. Many, 
also, he caused to be sold, and in various and shocking 
ways he put to death six hundred men at Guildford. On 
hearing this, queen Emma, in great haste, sent back her son 
Edmund, who had remained with her, into Normandy; 
whereupon, by the command of Godwin and certain others, 


1 It has been asserted that he was a shoemaker’s son, and palmed upon Canute as 
his son. This, however, is improbable. 

2 Roger of Wendover. 

3 Hy.of Huntingdon. 

4 Ingulph. . 

5 Malmesbury says that Godwin for some time restrained his opponents by the 
power of his name; but at last overcome by numbers and violence he was obliged to 
give way.—Lib. ii, c. 12. 





130 


ENGLAND EEFOEE THE CONQUEST. 


the Clito Alfred was led in the most strict bonds to the Isle 
of Ely; but as soon as the ship came to shore, on board of 
it, they instantly in the most cruel manner put out his eyes, 
and then, being led to the monastery by the monks, he was 
delivered into their charge. Here, shortly afterwards, he 
departed this life, and his body was buried with due honour 
in the south porch on the western side of the church.” 1 

23. These terrible tidings brought to Emma induced her 
to leave England. She accordingly proceeded to Elanders, 
where she was hospitably entertained by Earl Baldwin. 
"Whilst here she was visited by her son ITardicanute. 2 
Harold was crowned king of the northern part of the 
island in the year a.d. 1035, and, in consequence of 
Hardieanute’s absence, king of all England in the year 
a.d. 1037. He died in the year a.d. 1040. 3 

HAEDICANUTE. 

24. The death of Harold paved the way for the elevation 
of his half-brother, Hardicanute, to the throne. A sovereignty 
founded by Sweyn and consolidated by Canute, attained the 
climax of its greatness under him. Its glory waned under 
Harold, and finally departed under Hardicanute. The 
Hanes, to whom the Saxons had become more reconciled 
through the munificence and impartiality of Canute, were 
again held in abhorrence, and the Saxons sighed for the 
return of their native rulers, anticipating thereby an im¬ 
provement in their condition. The change of dynasty, 
however, was neither instantaneous nor abrupt: Hardi¬ 
canute’s reign was the transition period. 

25. Hardicanute was the son of Emma of Normandy by 
Canute. IIpon the death of his father, the southern part of 
the kingdom was allotted to him, as has before been related. 
I he known character of Harold doubtless prevented him 
from assuming that portion of the divided sovereignty which 
had been awarded to him. There was much sagacity dis¬ 
played in this resolution of his. Had he attempted to 
exercise a monarch’s authority during his brother’s lifetime, 


1 Hoveden. See also Eoger of Wen. and A. S. Chron. 

2 Eoger of Wendover, Hoveden, Hy. of Huntingdon. 

3 A. S. Chron. 



HAUDICANUTE. 


131 


we should doubtless have had to record a second Alfredic 
tragedy. Eor the unscrupulous mind of Harold would pro¬ 
bably have suggested some means for ridding himself of so 
obnoxious a rival. As it was, he remained abroad until 
Harold’s death, and then being invited to return by both 
Danes and Saxons, he complied with their request and be¬ 
came monarch of England. 1 If it be asked why Edward, 
the son of Ethelred and Emma, was not elected, I reply iu 
the words of Malmesbury, “ Etkelred’s sons were held iu 
contempt nearly by all, more from the recollection of their 
father’s indolence than the power of the Danes.” 

26. The first act of Hardicanute upon his return to 
England was one of retributive justice, yet mixed with 
singular vaccillation, cupidity, or fear. Godwin, and his 
accomplices in the cruel treatment of Alfred, were called to 
account. Godwin averred that he only did what he was 
compelled to do by the commands of Harold. To ingratiate 
himself in Hardicanute’s favour, he presented him with a 
“ galley, or ship, of exquisite workmanship, having a gilded 
beak, provided with the choicest equipments and fitted out 
with splendid arms, and eight hundred picked soldiers. Each 
one of these had on his arms bracelets of gold, weighing 
sixteen ounces, a triple coat of mail, a helmet on his head, 
partly gilded, a sword girt to his loins, with a gilded hilt, a 
Danish battle axe ornamented with gold hanging from the 
left shoulder, in his left hand a shield, the boss and studs of 
which were gilded, and in his right hand a lance, which in 
English language is called ‘ategar.” 2 

27. His next act was one of barbarous and senseless 
ferocity. By his orders Harold’s body was exhumed and 
thrown into the Thames. It was afterwards recovered, how¬ 
ever, by the Danes, and buried at London. 3 

28. In his second year he imposed an enormous tax upon 
the people, amounting to £21,089, for the army; and after 
that there was paid for thirty-two ships £11,04*8. 4 This 
heavy tax brought about a general murmuring. The nobles 
now regretted that they had invited him back, as we learn 


1 A. S, Chron., Hoveden. 

2 Hoveden, p. 110. 

3 Hoveden, VVm. of Malmesbury, 

4 Hy. of Huntingdon. 




132 


ENGLAND BEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 


from most of the old chroniclers. Two of the collectors of 
the tax were put to death at Worcester, which so incensed 
the monarch that he sent thither a large army, “ with orders 
to slay all they could, and, after plundering the city, to set 
it on fire, and lay waste the whole province. 5,1 This in¬ 
human order was too faithfully executed. Hardicanute did 
not long survive this atrocious act,—dying whilst carousing 
at a feast of one of his nobles at Lambeth, after an inglorious 
reign of two years. 3 


1 Hoveden. 

2 A. S. Chron. 



LEARNING UNDER THE DANES. 


133 


CHAPTER XT. 

LANGUAGE AND LEARNING DURING TEE DANISH PERIOD 

1. A very few words will suffice to describe the character 
of learniug in England during the Danish period. The 
Danes were a barbarous people. Such events as were com¬ 
mitted to writing by them in their northern homes were 
inscribed in Runic letters upon more durable material 
than paper or parchment. Their genealogical histories were 
registered upon rocks, and affairs of less importance to them 
were inscribed upon beechwood. Some of them used bark, 
and polished horns of the reindeer and elk, and these were 
made into books of several leaves. Inscriptions on tapestry, 
bells, parchment, and paper, were of later date. 1 It has 
been customary to regard the Danish influence upon the 
manners and customs and language of the Saxons as slight. 
The reverse of this, however, is true. The language of 
England at the present day must necessarily bear a Danish 
stamp, for we cannot suppose that settlers in a most import¬ 
ant part of a country for one hundred and fifty years should 
have failed to influence the language of an infant state; 
that a mixed race of Saxons and Danes should have exclu¬ 
sively cultivated the language of the one to the total neglect 
of the other. More reasonable is it to assume that the 
Danish language had an important influence upon the Saxon. 
In consequence, however, of the two tribes originally speak¬ 
ing dialects of the same language, it is impossible now to 
determine the precise amount. Yet we are not altogether 
ignorant of the impression which the Danes made upon our 
literature. Local names still testify what written accounts 
have failed to do. The late researches of Mr. Worsaae have 
brought many hidden things to light. 


1 Nicholson’s Historical Library, p. 23. See also Sharon Turner’s History of the 
Anglo-Saxons, yol. i, p. 206. 



13 4 


ENGLAND BEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 


2. The eastern counties of England bear the most un- 
mistakeable evidence of the Danish sway. Here the termina¬ 
tion “by” (of Danish origin) is the most frequent, which 
a cursory glance at the names of places in Lincolnshire will 
testify. Nor is this surprising, for the eastern part of 
England was the Danes’ peculiar place of settlement. The 
Wash was a favourite landing place, Lincolnshire a favourite 
home. Situated nearer to the Danish territory than the 
other parts of England, the Danes could the more readily 
obtain succour, or, in case of misfortune, more easily retreat. 
Moreover, here w r as the most fertile part of the island. 
Destitute of such mountains as are found in the north and 
west, and the immense woods and marshes of the centre, it 
the more readily yielded the fruits of the earth. The northern 
portions of England were early peopled by the followers of 
Guthrum ; the southern part contained inhabitants of Saxon 
blood; whilst the western district was still retained by the 
Eritons. Lincolnshire and Yorkshire were the two Danish 
counties, and here we find the most numerous traces of a 
Danish occupation. 

3. We often perceive traces of a people in the geograph¬ 
ical nomenclature of a country, even when history is silent 
upon the point. Titles are given either to physical features, 
or to newly-built towns, whilst articles of common utility or 
handicraft employments receive special names, indicating 
the people who must have designated them. In order to 
furnish some idea of the extent of Danish influence, I will 
briefly allude to a few names of Danish derivation. Eirst, 
with regard to the physical features. We have Winterton- 
ness, Lowestoftness, Eoulness, Shoeburyness, Sheerness, 
Dungeness, on the eastern coast, evident derivations from 
the Danish “naes,” a promontory or headland. Now we search 
in vain for such names on the western coast of England; 
for in that portion of the island the Danish influence was 
never permanently established. Of towns we have Whitby, 
Wragby, from the Danish termination by or hi: Erusthorpe, 
Northorpe, from the Danish thorjpe. Mr. Worsaae has, 
indeed, indicated as many as one thousand three hundred 
and seventy-three Danish-Norwegian names from the Danish 
terminations, by, thorpe, thwaite, with, toft, beck, naes, ey, 
dale, force, fell, tarn, and haugh. Then again of the names 


LEARNING- UNDER THE DANES. 


135 


of persons, we have Jackson, Johnson, Nelson, from the 
Scandinavian son.” Of popular names we have kirk, folk, 
kinsfolk, clapboard, lofts, crib, yule, cake, hustings, flit. Of 
titles, earl (northern jarl). The list might, indeed, be swelled 
indefinitely; but I trust enough has been said to show that 
the popular notion of the limited character of the Danish 
influence is a fallacy. 1 

4. The inhabitants of the north were always inferior, in a 
literary point of view, to the nations they invaded. This 
was the case with the barbarous invaders of Dome. The 
Saxon invaders were more uncivilized than the Britons, and 
the Danish pirates than the Saxon settlers. Thus was the 
progress of civilization in each case retarded by barbarous 
irruptions. Yet these invasions were not unmixed evils. 
The Britons had grown effeminate upon the visit of the 
Saxons, and Saxon energy had lost a portion of its pristine 
vigour upon the invasion of the Danes. A new stimulus 
was consequently infused into these decaying tribes by their 
successive conquerors. The Danes particularly assisted in 
the formation of the British seaman. 2 The same contempt 
of danger, and the same delight in his natural element, are still 
manifested by the English sailor. A few words will describe 
the state of learning in England during this period. The 
impetus given to it by king Alfred, and encouraged by his im¬ 
mediate successors, decayed in the time of the later kings, and 
became almost extinct through the atrocities of Sweyn. The 
monasteries founded in Dunstan’s time, and encouraged by 
Edgar and his successor, were destroyed by ruthless Danes. 
The destruction of such seats of learning as may have been 
established by the early Saxon kings left no home for 
students, and no encouragement for the learned to remain 


1 Worsaae’s Danes in England. Latham on the English Language. 

2 “ He (the Dane) could govern a vessel as the good horseman manages his horse; 
while on a voyage he could run across the oars while they were in motion; lie could throw 
three javelins to the masthead, and catch them alternately in his hand, and would 
repeat this trial of skill without once missing.”—Thierry, p. 21, c. ii. “ Sometimes 
they (the Danes) cruised near the coast, watching for their enemy in tbe straits, the 
bays, and roadsteads; from which custom they were called Vikings, or children of 
the creeks; and at other times they would give chase and steer across the ocean. 
Often were the fragile barks wrecked and dispersed by the violent storms of the 
northern seas, often did the rallying sign remain unanswered: but this neither in¬ 
creased the cares nor diminished the confidence of the survivors, who laughed at the 
winds and waves from which they had escaped unhurt. ‘ The force of the storm,’ 
they would sing, * is a help to the arm of our rowers; the hurricano is in our 
service, it carries us the way we would go. ’’—Thierry, p. 21, c. ii. 



13G 


ENGLAND BEFORE TILE CONQUEST. 


here. All was consequently dark and desolate at the acces¬ 
sion of Canute. He is reported to have encouraged the 
foundation of monasteries, and to have paid some attention 
to the literary improvement of his subjects in England. 
"Whether Oxford and Cambridge were seats of learning pre¬ 
viously, and to what extent schools -were founded in England, 
are matters of the utmost uncertainty. Something might 
have been done by Canute, perhaps much; but all is a 
matter of conjecture. The miseries of this period are fear¬ 
fully depicted in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, and Wulfstan 
has given us a horrifying picture of the state of the land at 
that period. “ There was now no good, neither within nor 
without; but there was invasion and hunger, burning and 
bloodshed on every side, often and continually; and ravage 
and slaughter, plague and pestilence, murrain of cattle and 
sicknesses, slander and hatred, and plundering of thieves, 
injured us very severely, and unjust contributions oppressed 
us exceedingly. Therefore in this land were, as it may 
appear, now many years, many wrongs, and fidelity wavered 
everywhere with men.” 1 The state of England at the period 
of Canute’s accession appears to have been parallel to its 
condition before the times of Alfred. Then learning was de¬ 
pressed, for the learned had fled to obtain that countenance 
on a foreign shore which their own fatherland denied them. 
Alfred invited the learned to return—Canute appears to have 
done the same. Alfred invited hither foreigners—Canute 
did likewise. 2 The little, however, that could have been 
accomplished during the short reign of Canute leaves us 
no room to doubt of the generally ignorant state of the 
kingdom under the rule of his successors. During the 
short reigns of Harold and Hardicanute retrogression is ali 
we are at liberty to mark. 


1 Biographia Britamiica Literaria, Anglo-Saxon period, p.. 507. 

2 Ibid, Lives of Jdaymo and Withman. 





EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. 


137 


CHAPTER XII. 

THE RETURN OF THE SAXON LINE OF SOVEREIGNS. 

1. The period of the Danish sway in England was very 
brief, barely comprising a quarter of a century. During that 
period three Danish kings reigned in England,—Canute, 
Harold, and Ilardicanute. 1 The vices of the two latter 
had rendered the Danish rule obnoxious, and the ambition 
of Godwin, England’s most powerful nobleman at that time, 
paved the way for the re-establishment of the Saxon race. 
Upon the death of Ilardicanute Godwin’s counsel was sought 
by Edward, who, having been invited to England by his 
half-brother Hardicanute, was still in the island. This wily 
baron advised Edward to seize the crown, and promised his 
assistance upon certain conditions most favourable to his 
own interests. Edward was to extend his friendship to 
Godwin personally, to marry his daughter Egitha, to sustain 
the powerful influence of his sons, and Godwin would secure 
the crown for him. 2 These propositions were agreed to, 
and Edward was proclaimed king a.d. 1042. 3 

2. Edward was the son of Ethelred (the Unready) and 
Emma. We hear very little of him previously to his ascend¬ 
ing the throne, except his embassy to the English people at 
the command of his father upon the death of Sweyn, and his 
invitation to England by his mother Emma, in the reign of 
Harold, and subsequently by Hardicanute. Of an amiable 


1 Sweyn died in the year a.d. 1014. In 1016 a.d. Ethelred died, soon after which 
Edmuhd Ironside and Canute came to an agreement, by which Edmund obtained 
Wessex, and Canute Mercia and the northern districts.” The early death of 
Edmund, however, put Canute in possession of undivided sovereignty either in the 
year a.d. 1016, or 1017. Canute died a.d. 1035, and was succeeded by his son 
ilarold; who, in the year a.d. 1040, was succeeded by Hardicanute. Hardicanute, 
the last of the Danish sovereigns, died in the year a.d. 1042. A. S. Chron. 

2 It must be boi’ne in mind that Edward, a son of Edmund Ironside, was still 
living with the king of Hungary, and was consequently the true heir to the 
throne. 

3 Wia, of Malm., lib. ii, c. 13.-A. S. Chron., sub. an. 1042. 





138 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


disposition, lie was well adapted to "race a position in private 
life, but ill suited to sustain the dignity of a sovereign, es¬ 
pecially in those troublous times. As was the father, so 
was the son—both imbecile. Godwin and his sons were 
indeed the real rulers of England during the greater part of 
bis weak reign. But Edward was a religious man. His 
piety secured for him the title of “ Confessor.” He was 
moreover in heart a foreigner: continental principles dis¬ 
played themselves in his actions. His abode in Normandy 
induced him to manifest a slavish adherence to Norman 
manners and customs, and this partiality led him to advance 
Normans to important posts of honour. Thus the Norman 
TTlf was created bishop of Dorchester, "William, the king’s 
chaplain, was appointed to the see of London, and Robert, 
also a Norman, advanced to the see of Canterbury. 1 His 
Norman training led him to despise Saxon customs,, and in¬ 
judiciously to introduce Norman usages. In addition to 
the cross,—the established Saxon mode of signifying the 
king’s assent to official documents,—.Edward added the im¬ 
pression of the great seal, according to the Frankish 
custom. 2 The Norman handwriting was preferred to the 
Saxon. Norman clerks were about his person, and business 
was conducted in the Norman style. “The consequence 
was, that under the governance of the king, and of the other 
Normans who had been introduced, the whole land began to 
forsake the English customs, and to imitate the manners 
of the Franks in many respects; all the nobles in their 
respective courts began to speak the Gallic tongue as though 
their great national language; executed their charters and 
deeds after the manner ot the Franks, and in these and 
many other ways showed themselves ashamed of their own 
customs.” 3 By such unwise and unpatriotic actions as 
these did Edward pave the way for the usurpation of the 
Conqueror. 

3. Although he fulfilled his pledge to Godwin by mann¬ 
ing his daughter, yet in many respects did he testify his 


1 A. S. Chronicle. 

2 “ At first, many estates were even transferred simply by word of mouth, without 
writing or charter, and only with the sword, helmet, horn, or cup of the owner; 
while many tenements were conveyed with a spur, a body scraper, a bow, and soma 
with an arrow.”- Ingulph, p. 142. 

3 Inguiph, p. 12(3. 



EDWARD THE CONFESSOR. # 139 

disapproval of the alliance, and in some instances behaved 
with cruelty towards the amiable Egitha. Thus upon the 
banishment of her father she was confined to the monastery 
at Wherwell, of which the king’s sister was abbess. 1 Yet 
according to William of Malmesbury she was a divine 
creature. He characterizes her as “ a woman whose bosom 
was the school of every liberal art, though little skilled in 
earthly matters; on seeing her, if you were amazed at her 
erudition, you must absolutely languish for the purity of her 
mind and the beauty of her person.” “Frequently have I 
seen her,” writes Ingulph, “ when in my boyhood I used to 
go to visit my father who was employed about the court; 
and often, when I met her, as I was coming from school, 
did she question me about my studies and my verses ; and 
most readily passing from the solidity of grammar to the 
brighter studies of logic, in which she was particularly 
skilful, she would catch me with the subtle threads of her 
arguments.” 2 

4. It may at first appear to us not a little strange that 
Edward should have been permitted to retain his throne 
without a struggle, immediately after three Danish kings 
had successively swayed the sceptre of England, and at a 
time too when so many powerful Danes resided in the king¬ 
dom. Many circumstances, however, contributed to render 
his accession comparatively easy, and his sway generally 
acquiesced in. In the list of circumstances which produced 
these events the influence of Godwin was of primary im¬ 
portance. 3 This nobleman, enriched by Danish patronage, 


1 Wm. of Malmesbury. 

2 Ingulph, p. 125. 

3 Godwin was the son of Wulnoth, or Wulfnoth, a South Saxon nobleman.'The vile 
Edric Streone appears to have falsely accused Wulfnoth to king Ethelred, who either 
banished him from the kingdom, or rather Wulfnoth thinking he was about to be 
seized fled of his own accord. He took with him a number of ships, and ravaged the 
southern coast, and appears afterwards to have joined the Daues. We hear no 
more of Wulfnoth, but Godwin his son soon rose into importance. He took an im¬ 
portant part in the succeeding struggles; assisted Canute in his distant wars, and 
was by him endowed with the richest gifts. During the three succeeding reigns 
Godwin and his family were the most important personages of the kingdom. It has 
been asserted that he was the instigator of the cruelty perpetrated upon Alfred and 
his followers, in the reign of Harold, already recorded, with a view to his own 
aggrandisement. That he was most ambitious, and perfectly unscrupulous in the 
means he adopted for obtaining power, is unquestionable. He died suddenly at a 
feast at Winchester. Henry of Huntingdon, and other chroniclers, imply that this 
was a judgment upon him for just swearing that he had had no part in the murder 
of the brother of the king. An old northern saga asserts that Wulfnoth was origin- 



140 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


long familiar with Danish customs, possessed of extensive 
wealth, * 1 of commanding eloquence, of lofty ambition, im¬ 
penetrable cunning, brave, generous, and apparently patriotic, 
was well calculated to win the populace over to that party 
whose views he embraced. Added to which he had sons as 
brave and skilful as himself, and ready to second his designs. 

5. Then again, the amalgamation of the Danes with the 
Saxons during successive reigns, and especially under the 
impartial rule of Canute, had contributed in no small degree 
to allay ancient animosities, and rendered each party more 
ready to accept a prince of the other line. It might fairly be 
doubted, however, whether Edward’s accession would have 
been obtained had there been a Danish Canute to claim the 
crown. No direct successor to Canute, however, appearing, 
the Danes passively submitted to Edward’s authority. 

6. Supported by the powerful influence of the family of 
Godwin, and further by the influence of the great nobles 
Siward and Leofric ; and threatened moreover with invasion 
by the Normans should they refuse to acknowledge Edward’s 
authority, he easily maintained his position. Being of an 
amiable disposition, no great apprehension was felt that by 
his elevation to the sovereignty he would infringe upon the 
privileges of the people, and he was thus the less likely to 
be disturbed by the Danes in England. Whilst the know¬ 
ledge of the authority vested in the Saxon Godwin, the re¬ 
mission of the tax of Danegelt—established by Ethelred, the 
Dnready—and other imprudent impositions, would be 
acceptable to the Saxons. Godwin would be disposed to 
use his utmost efforts to render the government popular, 
from a consideration of his recent royal alliance, and by the 
secret desire perhaps of ultimately claiming the crown for 
himself. The Normans too about his court would be no 
less assiduous in obtaining the good will of the Saxons, in 


ally a herdsman; that in consequence of Godwin’s directing to his camp a Danish 
nobleman who had lost his way in an English wood, after a great battle between the 
Danes and Saxons, he became admitted into the Danish service, and rapidly rose 
therein; finally becoming the most powerful noble in the kingdom. As this tale, 
however, is entirely overlooked by the old English chroniclers, I am inclined to 
doubt its authenticity, especially as the records of himself and family, as found in 
the English chronicles, are entirely irreconcilable with such an assertion. 

1 Ilis own earldom is related by Hoveden to have consisted of Kent, Sussex, and 
Wessex; his eldest son Sweyn’s of Oxford, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Somer¬ 
setshire,‘and Berkshire; and his son Harold’s of Essex, East Anglia, Huntingdon, 
and Cambridge. 





EDWARD THE CONEESSOR. 


141 


the hope, perhaps, that some day a Norman prince might 
sway the English sceptre. 

7. Edward’s first act was one of revengeful cruelty, 
whatever palliations of it may have been attempted by the 
old historians. Upon the pretence that his mother had not 
previously treated him properly, he seized her lands, and 
took away from her what riches she possessed, “ consisting of 
gold, silver, jewels, precious stones, and other things,” 1 and 
banished her from the kingdom. 2 

8. Edward’s partiality to foreigners was most impolitic. 
Normans were encouraged, and endowed with valuable pre¬ 
ferments, both in church and state. The patronage of the 
king led them to cherish their natural hatred of the Saxons. 
Upon one occasion, a Norman baron, named Eustace, landed 
at Dover, and upon his finding a difficulty in procuring 
quarters for his followers a quarrel ensued. “ The earl and 
his men being greatly enraged, slaughtered a great number 
of men and women with their arms, and trod down children 
and infants under their horses’ hoofs.” 3 Godwin espoused 
the cause of the injured Saxons, and was in consequence 
stripped of his honours, together with his sons, and banished 
the kingdom. His power and popularity, however, very soon 
secured his return, when he was re-instated in his former 
position, and the Normans in their turn exiled. It was 
during the interval of Godwin’s banishment and his return 
that William the Norman came over, ostensibly to congratu¬ 
late his cousin, really to improve his own prospects for ob¬ 
taining the kingdom. 

9. Soon after the return of Godwin and his sons an 
incident happened which strengthened William’s hopes of 
the crown. Harold is in Normandy. How he came there 
is not easily explained, as the old chroniclers differ in their 
narration of the event. The most plausible account appears 
to be that of Henry of Huntingdon, whose narrative I 


1 Hoveden. 

2 Henry of Huntingdon, 'sub. an. 1051. William of Malmesbury (lib. ii, c. 13) 
says that “ his mother had for a long time mocked at the needy state of her son, nor 
ever assisted him ; transferring her hereditary hatred of the father to the child, for 
she had both loved Canute more when living and more ccwimended him when dead. 
Besides accumulating money by every method, she had hoarded it, regardless of the 
poor, to whom she would give nothing, for fear of diminishing her heap.” 

3 Hoveden. 




142 


ENGLAND BEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 


transcribe: “ Harold, crossing the sea to Flanders, was 
driven by a storm on the coast of Ponthieu. The earl of 
that province arrested him, and brought him to "William, 
duke of Normandy. Whereupon Harold took a solemn 
oath to William, upon the most holy relics of saints, that 
he would marry his daughter, and on the death of king 
Edward would aid his designs upon England. Harold was 
entertained with great honour, and received many magnifi¬ 
cent gifts. 1 

10. I shall not give a minute history of Harold’s struggles 
with the Welsh during the reign of Edward; suffice it to 
say that his skill and bravery in contending with them were 
eminently successful. His military character rendered him 
an object of admiration to the Saxons; his generosity secured 
their affection, and his power rendered him a necessary in¬ 
strument to the king. His ambition directed him to the 
prospect of the crown, and his prudence in turning his 
influence to the best account secured him the object of his 
wishes. Although Edward, the exile, had been recalled by 
the king from Hungary, doubtless with the intention of 
nominating him as his successor, yet the sagacity of Harold 
plainly saw in this imbecile prince an object only of pity or 
contempt, and he was permitted to end his days in England 
without molestation. This event, however, took place soon 
after his arrival. The recall of this prince seems to indicate 
that Edward never seriously named the Norman as his suc¬ 
cessor. Edward died in the year a.d. 1066, and Harold 
quietly succeeded him. 2 


HAEOLD. 

11. The period of Saxon domination was now drawing 
rapidly to a close. Edward died in the year a.d. 1066, and 
Harold, the son of Godwin, became king. 3 Not that he 
was the hereditary successor of Edward ; but he founded his 
authority upon the professed will of Edward, and the 
suffrages of the people. His power was immense, his 

1 Henry of Huntingdon, lib. vi, sub. an. 1063. 

2 It was in Edward's reign that a powerful force was sent to restore the heir of 
Scotland to his inheritance, by the dethronement of the regicide, Macbeth, of 
Shakesperian celebrity. 

3 A. S. Chron. 





HAROLD. 


143 


abilities of a high order, and he possessed those personal 
qualifications so frequently the harbingers of success. In¬ 
gratiating himself into the favour of the people during the 
reign of Edward, with an eye to the seizure of the crown 
upon that prince’s demise,—cunningly averting the attention 
of the people from his most secret designs by his dazzling 
military exploits, he checked any disposition which might 
have arisen to suspect his aspiration to the throne. Sovereign 
power once obtained, by ascribing his position to the free 
choice of the people, he strengthened that innate love of 
freedom so deeply cherished by the Anglo-Saxon race. 

12. Harold, however, was not the rightful king. Edgar, 
the grandson of Edmund Ironside, 1 was still alive, though 
ill fitted by his imbecile disposition for the sovereignty of 
England at this dangerous period,—when rival barons, of 
scarcely inferior power to the king, were scattered through 
the kingdom, and often engaged in dangerous quarrels with 
each other, or in bidding defiance to their sovereign. Edgar’s 
claim was therefore passed over unnoticed, and Harold’s 
sovereignty universally accepted. Only a few months, how¬ 
ever, was he permitted to enjoy it. In the following year 
England submitted to another conqueror. 

13. An untoward circumstance occurred towards the 
close of the late king’s reign, which in its consequences 
decided the fate of the kingdom. Tostig, the brother of 
Harold, who had obtained the earldom of .Northumberland 
upon the death of Siward, treated the people there so roughly 
that after a period of ten years’ authority the Northumbrians 
rebelled, and demanded Morcar, the son of Elgar, as a sub¬ 
stitute. The king granted the petition of the people. Morcar 
received the earldom, and Tostig fled to Elanders. Harold, 


1 As has been previously remarked, Edmund Ironside left two sons, Edwy and 
Edward, who were sent by Canute (upon their father’s death) to Olave, king of 
Sweden, by whom they were afterwards sent to Hungary. Edwy soon died there; 
but Edward married the sister of the queen of Hungary, and had issue, Edgar the 
Atheling, and two daughters—Christina, who became a nun at Romsey, and Mar¬ 
garet, who afterwards became married to Malcolm, king of Scotland, and whose 
daughter Matilda became the queen of Henry I. Edward was recalled to England 
by Edward the Confessor, but soon afterwards died. Edgar, his son, was proclaimed 
king upon the death of Harold; but was one of the first who submitted to William 
the Conqueror. He was some time afterwards engaged in a rebellion against William, 
but was subsequently reconciled to him. We afterwards find him a partizan of duke 
Robert; but fortunately for himself escaped the heavy penalty inticteil upon that 
prince and his followers. We have no particulars relating to the close of his life.— 
Wm. of Malmesbury, lib. ii, c, 13; Roger of Wendover, 




144 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


unfortunately for himself, does not appear to have taken 
such an interest in Tostig’s affairs as his own schemes seemed 
to demand. The expelled brother only fled to obtain extra¬ 
neous aid for the recovery of his earldom. Upon the 
accession of Harold he accordingly returned, visited the Isle 
of Wight, and then sailed to the Humber. Driven from 
thence by the earls Edwin and Morcar, he sailed for Scotland. 
He there received the countenance of the Scottish king, was 
supplied by him with provisions, and remained there through 
the summer. Leaving Scotland, he was joined by Harold, 
the Norwegian king; and shortly after, at the battle of 
Stanford-bridge, was slain by Harold, and his forces dis¬ 
persed. 1 2 

14. This invasion was peculiarly unfortunate for Harold, 
for William the Norman was at the time only awaiting a 
favourable wind and sea to transport his forces for the con¬ 
quest of England. Whilst Harold was in the north William 
set sail, and landed at Pevensey without opposition, liis 
march to Hastings,and the fatal battle there, brought England 
once more prostrate at the feet of a foreign invader. Harold 
and his brother were slain in the battle; the weak Edgar 
was unfit for the command of an army; no other Saxon 
baron remained with sufficient influence to collect the scat¬ 
tered troops and ensure their unity in action, and William 
the Conqueror was proclaimed king. 3 

15. “ It is strange though nearly 800 years have elapsed, 
and we are all descended as much from one people as the 
other, that party feeling has not died out when we contem¬ 
plate these transactions. A patriotic glow enters our hearts 
when we hear of the noble resistance of the Saxons, and I 
believe f$w people in England now read the account of the 
battle of Hastings without an involuntary feeling of regret 
that the result was not different. The cause of this is, in 
the first place, the sympathy that naturally arises in all 
generous minds with a nation that is attacked, and defends 
its independence with courage; and secondly, in this par¬ 
ticular instance, because, of the two contending nations 
here, one had like ourselves been born and bred within the 


1 A. S. Chronicle. 

2 A. S. Chronicle. 





HAROLD. 


145 


four seas, and tlie other were foreigners—one spoke English, 
and the other Erench.” 1 But another cause might be 
added. We are still Saxons. The small number of Norman 
emigrants did not destroy the Saxon nationality, as our 
manners and customs, our language, our laws, still testify. 
The inhuman cruelty of William and his successor still 
excites our aversion of the Norman line of kings. Yet 
Providence so ordered it. Another race was to inspire new 
vigour into a decaying people. A sovereignty was to be 
established in unity with itself, whose extent and power 
should eclipse that of the most celebrated ancient empires. 
A people whose wealth should find no parallel in history; 
whose institutions should form the model of various future 
kingdoms ; whose energy should be directed to promote the 
fulfilment of prophecy; whose name should never be for¬ 
gotten whilst the present condition of human affairs should 
subsist,—was to arise upon the broken fragments of a 
diverse people. 


I < 


1 Landmarks of the History of England, p 24 


L 




146 


ENGLAND BEFORE T1IE CONQUEST. 


CHAPTEE XIII. 

REVIEW OF THE STATE OF LEARNING IN ENGLAND TO THE TIME 
OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 

1. The state of learning in England at the close of the 
tenth century was at a miserably low ebb, as we have before 
seen. The eleventh century opened most gloomily. At its 
commencement the Danish massacres called forth increasing 
Danish forces to revenge the murder of their countrymen. 
England now became a scene of horror. Monasteries stripped, 
villages sacked, many of the people slain, the remainder 
heavily oppressed. Then succeeded foreign rulers, under 
whom civilization became to a certain extent reanimated. 
Saxon princes followed, during whose reigns—although great 
darkness prevailed—yet progression became again visible. 
Notwithstanding, the actual state of learning was, as was 
before remarked, in a wretched condition. “ The clergy,” we 
are told, 1 2 “could scarcely stammer out the words of the 
sacraments; and a person who understood grammar was an 
object of wonder and astonishment.” Yielding to the in¬ 
fluence of drink 3 the Saxons had become enervated and their 
minds rendered destitute of mental energy. Thus enfeebled 
they became an easy prey to their victors. Instead of dwell¬ 
ing minutely upon the literary character of the first half of 
the eleventh century, when, with regard to England, there is 
in fact nothing to say, I shall proceed to make a few remarks 
in connection with the literature and learning of the whole 
of the Saxon period. If in England there was darkness at 
this time, abroad there was increasing light. Although the 
eastern empire presents a no very flattering view upon the 
whole, yet even there learning was not entirely neglected. 
The short reigns of the emperors, and the internal discord 


1 Wm, of Malmesbury, lib, iii, 

2 Wm. of Malmesbury, 




REVIEW OE LEARNING. 


147 


which prevailed in consequence of the instability of govern¬ 
ment, checked its progress ; yet a few emperors, as Alexuis 
Oommenus, favoured it with royal patronage. 1 In the west, 
although despised by the nobles, there was a revival amongst 
the clergy, and the schools in Italy flourished. In France, 
learning revived under the comical Eobert. The schools 
founded there flourished under his protection. At the com¬ 
mencement of this century independent seminaries were 
established there, where more was taught, and in a superior 
manner, than was the custom in the monkish habitations. 
Arabian learning now flourished. French teachers travelled 
to Spain to study, or gathered their learning from Arabian 
books. Physic and astrology also took their rise from this 
quarter. 2 

2. The reign of Edward has been aptly termed “ a state 
of transition from the Danish to the Norman dominion.” 3 
The Danish language had blended with the Saxon. The 
Saxon had been enriched by the Latin w T ords of Eoman 
missionaries. Celtic remains were still manifest in the 
names of many of the physical features of the country; 
Celtic was still the language of the northern and western 
parts of the island, and traces of the military language of 
the Eoman armies were still evident. It was now destined 
to receive another addition of “ half-Scandinavian ” character 
from Norman invaders. 

3. Notwithstanding the different elements which have 
entered into the composition of the English language; not¬ 
withstanding the efforts of the Normans to abolish its use, 
the partiality of the conquerors to their native languages, 
and the fondness of Saxon historians and poets for Latin 
composition,—the basis of our language is still Saxon. 
Though by no means so euphonious as the Greek, it never¬ 
theless supersedes the classical languages in expressiveness, 
and conveys a meaning to the illiterate effectually concealed 
in corresponding classical terms. The Bible, and Bunyan’s 
Pilgrim’s Progress, contain but comparatively few words 
which have not a Saxon origin. It is so copious that it is 
capable of expressing any subject of human thought, as 


1 Mosheim’s Eccles. Hist., vol. ii, p. 457, 

2 Ibid, p. 462, 

3 Worsaae. 




148 


ENGLAND BEEOKE THE CONQUEST. 


Turner justly remarks; 1 and it is capable of embracing every 
variety of metaphor and simile. I subjoin two extracts that 
an idea may be formed of the large proportion of Saxon 
words contained in our language. The Saxon words are 
printed in italics, and are taken from Turner’s History of 
the Anglo-Saxons. 


SHAKESPEARE. 

“ To be, or not to be, that is the question ; 

Whether His nobler in the mind to suffer 
The stings and arrows of outrageous fortune, 

Or to take arms against a sea o/troubles, 

And by opposing end them. To die ! to sleep 
No more! and by a sleep to say we end 
This heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks 
The flesh is heir to : twere a consummation 
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep ; 

To sleep l perchance to dream 

TRANSLATORS OF THE BIBLE. 

“ Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell 
down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord if thou hadst been here my 
brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the 
Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the s irit, and 
was troubled, and said Where have ye laid him ? They sard unto him , 
Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, Behold how he 
loved him .”—John xi. 32-36. 

“ The language of familiar intercourse, the terms of jest and 
pleasantry, and those of necessary business, the idioms or 
peculiar phrases into which words naturally run, the pro¬ 
verbs, which are the condensed and pointed sense of the 
people, the particles on which our syntax depends, and which 
are of perpetual occurrence,” are in the main Saxon. 

4. The subjects of instruction at this early period, and 
for many years afterwards, indeed, were arranged in two 
courses; the junior course consisting of grammar, rhetoric, 
and logic, and the senior comprising astronomy, geometry, 
music and arithmetic. The former was termed the Trivium, 
and the latter the Quadrivium. 

5. We must not suppose, however, from the enumeration 
of the above subjects that a thorough scientific education 
was given. Most of them were touched upon in the slightest 


1 Hist, of the Anglo-Saxons, lib. viii, c. 3 



REVIEW OP LEARNING. 


149 


manner possible. Before tbe introduction of the Arabic 
system of notation, we can readily imagine how difficult 
must have been the work of calculation. Well might Ald- 
helm regard the science as too difficult for the powers of the 
human mind. With the Boman letters M, D, C, L, X, Y, 
I, what could be done ? The instruction in arithmetic con¬ 
sisted in committing to memory a few definitions, with which 
were mingled the most superstitious absurdities about the 
virtue of certain numbers and figures. A few definitions 
and axioms sufficed for geometry; the mere rudiments of 
Latin grammar, from a small treatise by Donatus, were all 
that was taught in Latin; and most of the other subjects 
were treated similarly. The logic appears to have been a 
little in advance; but even in the twelfth century, as we 
learn from John of Salisbury, the talents of the learned were 
employed in the solution of such questions as this, 
“ Whether, when a hog was carried to market with a rope 
tied about its neck, and held at the other end by a man, the 
hog was really carried by the man or by the rope P” 1 2 Their 
geographical knowledge differed widely, at different times. 
The great principles of physical geography w T ere unknown ; 
the knowledge of the simple nomenclature of a few portions 
of foreign land and water belonged to a few only, and that 
few chiefly the vendors of relics, or the pilgrims to the 
Boman city. Written laws were at first unknown, and sub¬ 
sequently they were few in number and simple in kind. The 
science of medicine was at first the study of old women, 
whose superstitious practices were as successful in the treat¬ 
ment of patients as we might have expected. Subsequently 
the monks became rivals to these old women; but amongst 
them holy water was esteemed as of more virtue in the cure 
of diseases than scientific prescriptions. Music was one of 
those branches of study which received the utmost attention, 
nine or ten years being spent by youths in its acquisition. 
The invention of the musical scale by a monk 3 of St. Croix, 
in Italy, in the eleventh century, facilitated the acquisition 
of this branch of study. 

6. The difficulty of obtaining materials for composition 
was a great impediment to book learning. There were no 


1 Hallam’s Literary Hist, of Europe, vol. i, p. 3.- Craik, vol. i, p. 6. 

2 Musical characters were invented by Guido Aretino in the year 1025, 



150 


ENGLAND BEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


steam presses to multiply copies of any work wliicli might 
he written, but all were MS. productions. There was no 
paper to be .obtained at a merely nominal price. The old 
letters upon skins of parchment had to be erased perhaps 
before the work of writing could be commenced. Then 
again, the necessity of providing for the defence of the 
country was a duty imposed upon every male inhabitant 
capable of bearing arms. And we know that such an occu¬ 
pation unfits the mind for serious intellectual study. 

7. The Anglo-Saxon writers in England, from the first 
invasion to the conquest in 1066, were not few in number, 
nor their works unimportant. Mr. Wright in his Biographia 
Britannica Literaria gives a biographical account of no less a 
number than eighty. Although it must be admitted that 
the name of many of these is almost all that is recorded of 
them; yet it must also be acknowledged that such names as 
Aldhelm, Alcuin, Alfred, and Asser would not have disgraced 
the golden era of English literature. True most of them 
preferred the Latin medium of communication to the Saxon. 1 
But it must be borne in mind that Latin was the language 
of the learned, and for the learned alone were books written. 
Some few indeed, like Alfred and Aelfric, devoted their time 
to the translation of Latin works into the Saxon tongue; 
but the majority were content to write in the foreign language 
they had taken so much pains to master. 

8. Public schools, corresponding to our notions of such 
institutions, were rare. The palace of a prince or bishop, or 
the schoolroom of a monastery, were almost the only seats 
of learning. In the former, the sons of the noble in birth 
and princely in fortune might acquire such knowledge as was 
then communicated. In the latter the future ecclesiastics 
received their education. Public institutions for learning 
were founded on the continent, and such undertakings were 
probably attempted in England. Oxford must indeed at this 
early period have acquired celebrity, for the historian In- 
gulphus there received the greater part of his education 
duriug the reign of Edward the Confessor. He himself says : 
“ Now I, Ingulph, the humble servant of St. Gruthlac and of 


1 “It is the most striking circumstance in the literary annals of the dark ages, 
that they seem to us still more deficient in native than in acquired ability.”—Haliam 
Lit. His. Europe, p. 8. 



REVIEW OE LEARNING. 


151 


his monastery of Croyland, a native of England, and the son 
of parents who were [citizens] of the most beauteous city of 
London, being in my tender years destined for the pursuits 
of literature, was sent to study, first at Westminster, and 
afterwards at Oxford. After I had made progress beyond 
most of my fellows, in mastering Aristotle, 1 also clothed 
myself down to the heels with the first and second rhetoric 
of Tully. 1 ’ Erom this reference of Ingulph to his early 
education at Westminster, we may infer that a school existed 
there at this early period, though the silence of the ancient 
chroniclers regarding such institutions proves how low 
schools must generally have been held in public estimation. 

9. The chief compositions of the Anglo-Saxons were of a 
religious character. The lives of saints, sermons, sacred 
poetry, and ecclesiastical history, being the almost exclusive 
productions of the age. A prejudice against secular 
learning had been imbued by those ecclesiastics who gave a 
tone to the rest. It was inculcated in the most extravagant 
degree by Gregory I, the founder, in a great measure, of the 
papal supremacy, and the chief authority in the dark ages; 
it is even found in Alcuin, to whom so much is due, and it 
gave way but gradually in the revival of literature. 1 

10. Our chief authorities for the events of this period 
are Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The former in 
his Ecclesiastical History has given us an account of Britain 
down to the year 731. If diffuse and disconnected ; if fre¬ 
quently disfigured by the marvellous and superstitious; if 
demonstrating too slavish an adherence to papal error, or too 
eulogistic of terrestrial saints, its historical value is never¬ 
theless very great. But for it a large portion of the early 
history of our country might have been totally unknown 
to us. 

11. The early part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is 
chiefly a compilation from Bede : the remaining portion of it 
is the work of several hands. The events enumerated appear 
to have been taken from registers kept in different monas¬ 
teries. To Alcuin we are chiefly indebted for what know¬ 
ledge we possess of the kind of instruction given in his time. 
From Caedmon, and Aldhelm, and Bede, and Alcuin, and 


I HaUam’s Literary Hist, of Europe, p. 4. 



152 ENGLAND BEEOKE THE CONQUEST. 

Asser, we may judge of the poetry and prose compositions of 
the times. Add to their writings the compositions of a few 
ecclesiastics of mediocre capacity, and the translations of 
Alfred, Aelfric, and a few other industrious churchmen, and 
the Anglo-Saxon authorities are before us. 

15. We must bear in mind that the reflection of the 
ancient historical writings have alone reached us, most of 
the original MSS. having perished. Those MSS. which we 
possess were written since the time of Alfred, and the 
transcribers have no doubt in many instances given us their 
own opinions in preference to their author’s. This fact also 
prevents our judging correctly of the real character of the 
Anglo-Saxon language, and the difficulty is increased from 
the consideration that there is no living language very closely 
resembling the original Anglo-Saxon, as far as we have 
means of judging. Although the English language is based 
upon the Anglo-Saxon, they are really two different tongues. 
An Englishman, not specially instructed, can no more deci¬ 
pher the language of his early ancestors than a stranger, so 
complete has been the change. The nearest dialect to it is 
perhaps the old Erisic, though here a sufficient diversity 
exists. 1 


1 Spalding. 



ST. PATRICK. 


153 


CHAPTER XIV. 

BRITISH LITERARY CHARACTERS. 

ST. PATRICK. 

1. Having given a general view of the character of 
England and its people to the time of William the Conqueror, 
I propose now to give a succinct account of the chief of those 
personages who influenced our literature during this period 
or subsequently. Of such men no one was perhaps more dis¬ 
tinguished than Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Though 
not born in Ireland, he spent the greater part of his time 
there. There he eked out the early part of his life in slavery, 
there he spent the remaining portion in honour. Ireland was 
to England, in the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, 
what England is now to her colonies—the centre of attrac¬ 
tion for all who aspire to literary eminence ; and St. Patrick 
was the founder of this flattering state of things. 

2. St. Patrick was born in Armorica about the year a.d. 
387. 1 At the age of sixteen he was carried captive to Ire¬ 
land, by “ Nial of the nine hostages,” who was at that period 
ravaging the northern coasts of Gaul. In Ireland he was 
sold as a slave, and continued for six years to serve as such 
in the county of Antrim. A shepherd during this period, he 
continued to nourish in his mountain solitude dreams of 
future greatness. This continual musing so heated his 
imagination that in a dream he fancied he heard a voice 
promising him a speedy return to his country. Heeding 
this voice he betook himself to flight, escaped Irom Ireland, 
and reached Gaul in safety. Soon after his arrival he became 
an inmate of the monastery of St. Martin, at Tours, where 
he remained for a period of four years. At the end of this 


1 Moore’s Hist, of Ireland, vol, i, p. 211.—Usher and Fellemont place the date of 
his birth in the year 372. 






154 


ENGLAND BEEORE THE CONQUEST. 


time a dream again inspired him with new energy. He 
fancied that a messenger appeared to him, coming as if from 
Ireland, and bearing innumerable letters, on one of which 
were written these words, “ The voice of the Irish.” At the 
same moment he fancied that he could hear the voices of 
persons from the wood of Eoclat, near the Western Sea, 
crying out, as with one utterance, “We entreat thee, holy 
youth, to come and walk still among us.” “I was greatly 
affected in my heart,” adds the saint, in describing this 
dream, “and could read no further; I then awoke.” 1 Soon 
afterwards he became a pupil of St. German, of Auxerre, 
and in the year 429, accompanied St. German and Lupus to 
Britain, in their expedition thither for the purpose of ex¬ 
tinguishing the Pelagian heresy. 

3. Upon the death of Palladius, the first Irish bishop, 
Patrick was appointed to succeed him. As might have been 
expected, he met with opposition upon his first landing, but 
was at length completely successful. Chiefs and noble 
ladies, as well as those of inferior rank, heartily welcomed 
him. He preached, and was thus the means of the conver¬ 
sion of many. He erected churches, established schools, and 
founded monasteries. He induced the people to abolish 
many of their heathen practices, and reared upon the sites of 
their altars for human sacrifice sacred temples to the living 
God. Multitudes were baptized, priests were ordained, and 
the means for spreading the doctrines of Christianity provi¬ 
ded. Even the arch-poet among the Druids was converted 
by him, and created bishop. Having established the see of 
Armagh, he ordained Benignus, whom he appointed as his 
successor, to that see. After a life of eminent Christian 
usefulness, he fell asleep in Jesus in the year a.d. 465. 2 

4. The only authentic remains of his which we possess 
are his Confession, and a Letter to Coroticus, a prince of 
some part of Wales ; but the exertions he made to promote 
Christianity, and to improve the minds of the people intel¬ 
lectually, by building schools and furnishing them with 
teachers, the pupils of which eventually became the in¬ 
structors of Englishmen, entitle him to a prominent place, 
even in a work like the present. 


1 Moore’s Hist, of Ireland, vol. i, p. 212. 

2 Ibid, p. 215, passim. 



PELAGIUS AND GILDAS. 


155 


PELAGIUS. 

5. To the fifth century belongs the celebrated Pelagius, 1 
originator of the Pelagian heresy. According to Bede and 
others 2 he was a Briton, and was probably born towards the 
close of the fourth century. He belonged to the monastery 
of Bangor, 3 and passing oyer into Italy became highly 
esteemed for his exemplary conduct, and his denunciations 
against the immorality of the times. After visiting Africa 
and Palestine, in company with his disciple Celestius, he was 
banished from Italy by the emperor Honorius, a.d. 418. 
He inculcated the shocking doctrines that man can merit 
spiritual rewards by his own unaided exertions ; that man is 
inclined to do right; that the sin of our first parent was 
confined to himself, and that infants are born holy. He 
was strenuously opposed by Augustine, yet with singular 
inconsistency some of the Pelagian doctrines at length crept 
into the Bomish church, and was strongly supported by 
members of that body, as Duns Scotus, and St. Thomas 
Aquinas, during the middle ages. Concerning the history 
of the latter part of the life of Pelagius we are ignorant. 
The remains of his writings are a Commentary on St. Paul’s 
Epistles, a Letter to Demetria, and a Confession of Eaith to 
Pope Innocent. These are printed in Jerome’s writings. 
He also wrote on “ Eree Will and the Power of Nature,” a 
fragment of which is preserved in Augustine. Before writing 
his heretical books, he had acquired a reputation by his 
works on “ Eaith in the Holy Trinity,” in three books, and 
by his Eulogies, taken out of the divine scriptures. 4 

GILDAS. 

6. In tracing the history of ancient British writers, we 
wander in a dark labyrinth, now apparently beholding a ray 
of genuine light, and now attributing the sensation to an 


1 The Welsh name of Pelagius was Morgan. 

2 Craik seems to consider him a Scot. “ Pelagius, although he has been claimed 
as a native of South Britain, was more probably, like his disciple Celestius, a Scot; 
that is to say a native of Ireland, the only Scotia, or Scotland, of this date.”—Vol. i, 

p. 12. 

3 “Whether this was the monastery of Bangor, in Wales, or that of Bangor, or 
Banchor, near Carrickfergus in Ireland, has been disputed.” Craik, vol. i, 12. 

4 Bede; History of the Britons, by Dr. Giles; English Cyclopaedia; Craik. 





156 


ENGLAND EEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 


optical delusion. It is a “ will-o’ the-wisp ” adventure. Yet 
if we are deceived, it is in the pleasant deception of enchant¬ 
ing romance. The results of the researches of the learned 
to ascertain the true character of the dark period of our 
early history often render confusion more confused. To 
separate between fable and fact little more than ingenious 
conjecture can be expected. There are preconceived, notions 
to contend with; party spirit and literary antagonism to 
smother ; the desire to obtain originality in opinion to check; 
and the reconciling of contradictory assertions to perform. 
We do not wonder then that the results of investigation by 
different ardent minds should be so diverse. Diverse, in¬ 
deed, are the opinions respecting the character before us. 
Whilst such men as Usher and Stephenson contend for the 
reality of the personage, Gildas, the earliest British historian, 
Wright on the other hand attempts to show that he is but a 
fabled character, like many of the heroes of antiquity. I am 
disposed to believe that Gildas is no fictitious personage. 
His history, fabled or real, runs thus. Born towards the 
close of the fifth or beginning of the sixth century, at Dum¬ 
barton, he was one of the twenty-four sons of Can or Hen. 
He received the early part of his education under St. Iltutus, 
as we learn from an anonymous author, termed the Monk of 
Buy s, and was early noted for his piety. When but young 
he passed over to France, there to pursue his studies, where 
he remained for a period of seven years, and upon his return 
became a zealous preacher in his native country. He founded 
a school and church on the coast of Pembrokeshire, to which 
scholars flocked from all parts of the country. On this 
coast he preached weekly, and soon acquired a world-wide 
reputation. Caradoc relates a circumstance connected with 
him which doubtless enhanced his reputation. Whilst 
preaching one day he suddenly lost his voice, and ordered 
all his congregation to leave the church, suspecting that some 
one of the people was the cause of the impediment. His 
power of speech, however, did not return with the removal 
of the people. At length he discovered one Nonnita, a preg¬ 
nant woman, who afterwards became the mother of the 
patron saint of Wales, moved aside to escape the notice of 
the crowd, who thus addressed him: “Ego Nonnita hie 
maneo inter parietem et januam nolens entrare turbam.” 


GILDAS. 


157 


He ordered her out and was then able to conclude his 
sermon, which done, he predicted the character of the child 
that she was to bear. 

7. He was afterwards invited over to Ireland, where, it is 
recorded, he became rector of the school at Armagh, founded 
monasteries, and preached to the people. Whilst there he 
heard of the death of his eldest brother Huell, who, with his 
two and twenty brothers, had been engaged in a rebellion 
against king Arthur, and had been slain by him in the Isle 
of Mona. 1 He at length determined to visit Home, to 
present the Boman pontiff with an extraordinary bell, and in 
passing through Britain was entertained by St. Cadoc of 
Lancarvan. Here also, as we learn from Caradoc, 2 numbers 
of the people flocked to see him. Through the mediation of 
St. Cadoc, Gildas was reconciled to king Arthur, the king 
being forgiven for slaying Huell. Gildas at length revisited 
Home, presented the bell to the pope, and took a long tour 
before he returned to his native home. From Borne he went 
to Bavenna, and thence to Buys, in Brittany ; and French 
historians affirm that, having founded the monastery of St. 
Gildas de Buys, he ended his days there. Caradoc, how r - 
ever, has given a different version of the termination of his 
life. He informs us that upon the arrival of Gildas at 
Borne, he was ordered by the pope to take the bell back to 
Cadoc, who resided at Lancarvan, and who previously desired 
to have it. Gildas adopted the pope’s advice, and returned 
and dwelt at Lancarvan for a time, and afterwards removed 
with Cadoc to the islands of Bonech and Echin [Steepholm 
and Flatholm] in the Severn. Driven from this retreat by 
a band of pirates from the Orcades islands, Gildas escaped 
to Glastonbury, when he, in conjunction with the abbot, 
was the means of restoring to king Arthur his w r ife Guenever, 
who had been carried off by Meluas, king of that district. 
He died at Glastonbury, in an oratory built by himself. 
Gildas is represented by his biographers to have separated 
hostile armies by remonstrance. He is said to have been 
endowed with the gift of prophecy, and the power to w'ork 


1 Gidas. 

2 His early biographer 




158 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


miracles. The exact period of his death, as indeed of his 
birth, is totally uncertain. 1 

9. Although numerous are the writings attributed to 
Gildas, modern critics reject all but his “ De excidio Britan- 
nise.” This work contains a brief history of the Britons 
during the period of the invasions of the Romans, Piets and 
Scots, and Saxons. In it he speaks most depreciatingly of 
his countrymen, calling them “crafty foxes” and “timorous 
chickens;” whilst he endeavours correspondingly to elevate 
the Roman character. Then follows an epistle of great 
length, addressed to live kings, upbraiding them for their 
wickedness, and continually citing examples from holy writ 
in illustration of his remarks, shewing them the judgments 
which befel such men as Saul, Jeroboam, &c. His style is 
most inflated. 


COLUMBA. 

10. I insert the life of this celebrated man here, not in 
consequence of his character as an author, but because 
of his exertions to spread Christianity, and to provide the 
people, whose interests he had so much at heart, with better 
means of instruction. Columba, or Columbkill, the apostle 
of the Western Isles, was born in Ireland, about the year 
521. He was descended from the great Nial, before men¬ 
tioned, and was consequently of illustrious birth. He has 
been confounded with Columbanus, also an Irishman and 
the founder of a monastic system upon the continent; but 
they were in reality distinct personages. He was educated 
principally at the celebrated Irish school of St. Einnian, at 
Clonard. At the age of twenty-five he began to show his 
partiality for the monastic system, by founding the monastery 
of Doire Calgach. He subsequently established a second 
monastery in the district of Meath. Thus were his labours 
auspiciously commenced. 

11. Being imbued with a thorough missionary spirit he, 
about the year 563, visited Scotland, and obtained a graut 
of the island of Hy, or Iona (now Icolmkill), from the king 


1 Life of Gildas, by Carado'e of Lancarvan. Another Life of Gildas, the author of 
which is unknown, but generally characterized as the Monk of Buys, Biographia 
Brit. Lit., article Gildas, 



COLUMBA. 


159 


of the Scots. This island had early been distinguished as 
the seat of Druidism in the north, and it was the first aim 
of Columba to expel the false teachers. This accomplished, 
he introduced the purer doctrine of Christianity. He erected 
a monastery and church there, and having arranged other 
necessary matters for the propagation of the new system of 
religion, made his way towards the highlands of Scotland. 
Having subdued opposition, he propagated the gospel in this 
northern district. He now turned his attention to some 
other of the western isles, and acted there as he had pre¬ 
viously done in Iona and north of the Grampians. Although 
so busily engaged in his adopted country in the north, he 
was not insensible to the claims of his fatherland, but appears 
to have taken the deepest interest in its affairs. Visiting 
Ireland with his friend king Aidan, he had the merit of 
interposing hi3 influence for the purpose of saving the Irish 
bards, who, in consequence of their insolence, were threatened 
with banishment. His mediation was successful, and they 
were permitted to remain, a reformation having been effected 
amongst them. At this period he visited the Irish monas¬ 
teries and other religious establishments there, and then, 
returning to Scotland, persevered in the course he appears 
to have previously marked out for himself. His death oc¬ 
curred about the year 597. A copy of the Four Gospels, 
said to have been written by him, is still preserved in King’s 
College, Dublin. 1 


1 Moore’s Hist, of Ireland, vol. i, p. 236, passim; Eng. Cyclopeedia j A. S, Chron., 
sub. an, 565 s Bede’s H. E., lib. iii, c. 4, and lib, iy, c. 9. 



1G0 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


CHAPTER XV. 

ANGLO-SAXON WRITERS. 

WILERID. 

1. Many years elapsed after the arrival of the Saxons in 
England ere we are favoured with any compositions from a 
Saxon hand. As I have before stated, the Saxons were a 
barbarous people; their system of letters was most imperfect, 
and consequently required to be east in a new mould ere any 
literary fruits should be produced. The man whose history 
we are now considering was one of the instruments in pre¬ 
paring the way for such a denouement. 

2. Wilfrid was born of noble parents in the year G34, 
and very soon gave proofs of his pious disposition. At an 
early age he had the misfortune to lose his mother, whose 
place was but ill-supplied by a step-mother. She took from 
him his toys, and the handsome dresses in which he had 
been accustomed to appear before his father’s friends. At 
the age of thirteen or fourteen he left his home and presented 
himself before queen Eanfleda, wife of Oswy, king of Ber- 
nicia, who procured admission for him to the monastery of 
Lindislarne. His conduct there was most satisfactory to his 
superiors, and desiring to visit Rome to learn its ecclesias¬ 
tical practices, was commended by queen Eanfleda to the 
monks. She gave him a letter of introduction to her 
cousin, 1 the king of Kent, who soon afforded him the means 
of prosecuting his journey to Rome, in company with a 
young man of destined celebrity—Benedict Biscop. Arriving 
at Lyons, in Prance, Wilfrid permitted himself to be detained 
there for a short space of time by -Dalgin, bishop of that 
city, who had become suddenly attached to him. Dalgin, 
indeed, offered to receive him as his adopted son, and to give 

1 Bede, lib. v, c. 12. 



WILFRID. 


161 


him his niece in marriage, if he would remain with him, and 
would further invest him with the government of a portion 
of France. These tempting offers, however, he declined, 
and proceeding to Borne soon gained the friendship of 
Boniface, the archdeacon and the pope’s counsellor, and 
obtained the information he desired during his stay of a 
few months there. 

3. Wilfrid now returned to Lyons, to his friend Dalfin, 
with whom he remained for a period of three years. Dalfin 
intended to make him his heir, had he not himself been 
massacred by the command of Bathilda, a. queen of the 
Franks. Wilfrid’s youth and beauty, and the fact of his 
being a stranger, rescued him from a similar fate. He now 
returned to England, and was joyfully received by Oswy, 
king of Northumbria, and his son Alfrid, whom he had 
associated with him in the government. He was appointed 
to the monastery at Bipon, and afterwards ordained priest. 
Alfrid sent him to France to be consecrated bishop by 
Agilbert, where he remained a period of three years. Soon 
after his return he was presented with the bishoprick of 
York, Chad, the then bishop having resigned in consequence 
of not having been properly consecrated. 1 Bede informs 
us 2 that Wilfrid returned from France some time before the 
arrival of Theodore here, and performed the office of ordina¬ 
tion in Kent until Theodore arrived. In the reign of Egfrid, 
of Northumberland, son and successor of Oswy, Wilfrid was 
expelled from his see. This disgrace was doubtless brought 
upon him in consequence of his arrogance, and his endeavour 
to render ecclesiastical patronage independent of lay inter¬ 
ference. Various reasons, however, have been assigned for 
the step. It has been asserted that the bishop had advised 
Egfrid’s queen to enter a monastery, and had thus displeased 
him. Again it has been said that the jealousy and animosity 
of Egfrid’s second queen was the cause; she disliking his 
reproofs and envying his magnificence. 

4. Upon his expulsion lie repaired to Borne to lay his 
case before the pope ; but on his way thither was driven on 
the coast of Friesland, where he was honourably received, 
however, by the barbarians to whom he preached, and was 

1 Chad was afterwards appointed bishop of Lichfield. 

2 Lib. iv, c. 2. 

M 




1C2 ENGLAND BEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 

the means of the conversion of many. Arrived at Koine, he 
was acquitted, as might have been expected ; but upon his 
return to England was committed to prison, whence, after a 
time, he escaped, and preached to the South Saxons. Bede 
gives us a most deplorable picture of the South Saxons at this 
time. Their ignorance was so great, he tells us, that though 
there had been a famine in the land, in consequence of a 
lack of rain for three years, and although their rivers 
abounded in fish yet they had not the sense to catch them. 
"Wilfrid taught them the art of fishing, and upon the day on 
which the nation was baptized a plentiful supply of rain fell, 
which induced the people to listen to the spiritual advice of 
their instructor. The king of the South Saxons, who, as well 
as his queen, had previously been baptized, gave Wilfrid a 
portion of land at Selden, where he founded a monastery. 
In the reign of Aldfrid, successor of Egfrid, Wilfrid was 
restored to his see of York ; but in the space of five years 
he was again deposed, and again fled to Kome for protection. 
The pope acquitted him a second time, and forwarded letters 
in his behalf to Aldfrid of JNorthumb.ria and Ethelred of 
Mercia. Alfrid, however, was firm in his opposition to the 
bishop, and it does not appear that he again obtained his 
see. Keturning, however, to his monastery of Kipon, worn 
out with anxiety and bodily infirmity, he breathed his 
last in the year a.d. 709. 

5. Wilfrid was a great patron of architecture. His 
biographer, Eddius, has given a full description of his designs. 
His exertions in the kingdom of the South Saxons rescued 
the last part of England from the darkness of paganism. His 
writings, however, which are not supposed to have been 
numerous, have been all lost. Those attributed to him are 
a Treatise on Easter, the Acts of the Council of Whitby, 
some Letters, and a Kule for his monks. 1 

BENEDICT BISCOP. 

6. If Wilfrid prepared the way for the education of the 
Saxon people by his pious and unwearied exertions in en- 


1 The history of Wilfrid has been given by three biographers, Bede, Eddius, and 
Eadmer. See the admirable history collated from these biographies by Mr. Wright, 
Biographia Britannica Literaria, Anglo-Saxon period. 




BENEDICT BISCOP. 


163 


deavouring to effect their reformation, Benedict gave a more 
palpable illustration of his exertions by building monasteries, 
introducing learned men into them, collecting books, and 
teaching the people. He was a great traveller, and his 
journeys were undertaken with a definite motive, viz., 
the collection of books and other useful materials for his 
monasteries. 

7. Benedict was born about the year 629, of Saxon 
parents, in Northumbria. At an early age he was instructed 
in military affairs, and his reputation soon acquired for him 
the friendship of Oswy, by whom he was appointed his 
minister. Oswy enriched him with several grants of lands; 
these, however, he despised, and at the early age of twenty- 
five made a journey to Borne with Wilfrid as has been 
previously related. After an absence of nearly ten years, 
which period he spent in Borne in unceasing study, lie re¬ 
turned and was well received by Alfrid, (who then reigned 
in Northumbria in conjunction with his father) and by him 
was sent to Borne again. After a stay of a few months he 
returned to the island of Lerin, in Provence, received the 
tonsure, and became an inmate of the abbey there, where he 
remained during a space of two years. At the expiration of 
this period he visited Borne a third time, and returned to 
England in company with Theodore, the new archbishop of 
Canterbury. Theodore very soon made him abbot of the 
monastery of St. Augustine, at Canterbury, which office he 
retained for a period of two years and then set out again for 
Borne. Here he obtained numerous books and relics, in 
addition to those he had previously collected, and returned 
to his native province of Northumbria, and attached himself 
to Egfrid, the then king. Egfrid granted him land near the 
mouth of the Wear, where he erected the monastery of 
Wearmouth. Eor the building of this monastery he went 
over to Gaul and obtained masons and glaziers. By great 
exertions the building was soon finished after Bom'an 
models. “ Stones and glass were first used by him,” says 
Malmesbury ; i. e ., the stones were first laid in regular lines 
in the erection of his buildings. This monastery was dedi¬ 
cated to St. Peter. Again he visited Borne for the purpose 
of obtaining those fittings for his monastery which could not 
be collected elsewhere. Books, relics, and paintings were 


164 ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 

secured during this visit which were carefully preserved. 
It was during his stay at Home this time that he secured 
abbot John, arch-chanter at St. Peter’s at Home, to return 
with him to instruct his monks in singing. John was 
ordered by his master, the pope, to observe the spiritual 
condition of the English people, which he appears to have 
carefully done, and transmitted a satisfactory account of it 
to the pontiff. After this, Benedict obtained more land 
from Egfrid, on the Tyne, and erected another monastery at 
a place called Yarrow, or Jarrow. This monastery he dedi¬ 
cated to St. Paul. For the sixth and last time he visited 
Home, taking with him as heretofore his faithful friend 
Ceolfrid, whom he had made sub-abbot of one monastery, as 
he had Easterwin of the other. He returned again laden 
with precious books and pictures, thus rendering his monas¬ 
teries the most celebrated in England. Soon afterwards he 
was afflicted with palsy, and from this disease he suffered 
three years. He died in the year 690, having appointed 
Ceolfrid as his successor. Although Benedict is asserted to 
have written several works, yet, like those of "Wilfrid, they 
have all perished. His name, however, deserves to be re¬ 
corded among the Anglo-Saxon literati, if we regard him 
simply as the collector of so many works in that age of book- 
dearth. He was, however, a teacher, and it is to be regretted 
that so eminent a scholar should not have left one specimen 
of the fruits of his learning. 1 

CAEDMON. 

8. The language of our Saxon forefathers has been 
arranged under three heads: the British-Saxon, the Danish- 
Saxon, and the Norm an-Saxon. 2 The only remains of 
writings in British-Saxon are the metrical lines of Caedmon, 
inserted in Alfred’s translation of Bede, whose history we 
now briefly propose to notice. 

9. Bede informs us that Caedmon was in the service of 
the monks of Whitby, attending to their horses, and con¬ 
sequently spent his early days in ignorance. It appears 


1 Bede, Roger of Wen., Wm. of Malm., Bio. Brit. Literaria. 

2 Warton’s Hist, of English Poetry, pp. 1 and 2. 




CAEDMON. 


165 


that our Saxon forefathers were fond of amusing themselves, 
displaying their musical attainments at the hour of supper 
by singing, and playing upon the harp. Upon one of these 
festive occasions, when Caedmon was present, he, to avoid 
the shame of passing the harp round instead of playing and 
singing, vexedly hurried to his home. In the night visions 
a stranger appeared to him, and said, “ Caedmon, sing some 
song to me.” He replied, “I cannot sing.” The stranger, 
however, would receive no denial, and ordered him to sing 
of the beginning of created things. He composed an ode, 
awoke, and remembered it. In the morning he went to the 
steward, and told him of his night performance, and 
was thereupon brought before the abbess and the learned 
inmates of the monastery, and repeated his poem to them. 
It was perfectly successful, and he was ordered to prepare 
in verse a passage of holy writ read over to him, which he 
satisfactorily accomplished, and presented it to them on the 
following morning. He was now requested to take upon 
himself the monastic habit, which he did, and devoted the 
remainder of his life to the composition of sacred poetry. 
Being unable to read himself, the sacred history was repeated 
to him by the monks, and he, “ keeping in mind all he 
heard, and as it were chewing the cud, converted the same 
into harmonious verse.” His works are thus enumerated 
bp Bede : x “ He sang the creation of the world, the origin 
of man, and all the history of Genesis: and made many 
verses on the departure of the children of Israel out of 
Egypt, and their entering into the land of promise, with 
many other histories from holy writ; the incarnation, 
passion, resurrection of our Lord, and his ascension into 
heaven; the coming of the Holy Ghost, and the preaching of 
the apostles; also the terror of future judgment, the horror 
of the pains of hell, and the delights of heaven; besides 
many more about the divine benefits and judgments, by 
which he endeavoured to turn away all men from the love 
of vice, and to excite in them the love of, and application to, 
good actions.” Caedmon’s song is preserved in Alfred’s 
translation of Bede, and is literally translated in Turner’s 


1 Lib. iv, c. 24. 



166 ENGLAND BEFOEE THE CONQUEST. 

History of the Anglo-Saxons, 1 which translation I take the 
liberty of transcribing: 

Now should we praise 

The guardian of the heavenly kingdom, 

The mighty creator; 

And the conceptions of his mind. 

Glorious father of his works, 

As he of every glory 
Eternal Lord ! 

Established the beginning. 

So he first made 

The earth for the children of men, 

And the heavens for its canopy. 

Holy creator, 

The middle region, 

The guardian of mankind, 

The eternal Lord, 

Afterwards made 
The earth for men; 

Almighty ruler! 

Caedmon has justly been denominated the father of English 
poetry. His writings resemble in character and style the 
works of Milton. 

10. “When the time of his departure drew near,” says 
Bede, “ he laboured for the space of fourteen days under a 
bodily infirmity which seemed to prepare the way, yet so 
moderate that he could talk and walk the whole time.” He 
asked his attendants to take him to the dead house, a place 
where persons likely to die were carried, and at midnight 
requested that the Eucharist should be administered to him. 
He enquired if they were all in charity with him, and upon 
their answering in the affirmative, and a rejoinder as to 
whether he were in charity with them, he replied, “ I am in 
charity, my children, with all the servants of God.” Soon 
after this, falling into a slumber, he ended his life in 
silence. 2 


ADAMNAN. 

11. The history of the personage before us is, though 
brief, of a most interesting character; for it is the history, 

1 Yol. iv,lib. vi, c. 4. Wherever the fourth volume of Turner’s History of the 
Anglo-Saxons is referred to in the course of this -work, the edition of 1805 is meant. 
Eeferences to vols. i, ii, iii, belong to Longman’s new edition, 

2 Bede, lib. iv, c. 24. 





ADAMNAtf. 


1G7 


not only oi a man of learning, but of one open to conviction, 
earnest in his Christian duties, and of one who “ as a writer 
holds the remarkable position of being probably the first 
native of our islands who incited the Anglo-Saxons to that 
long pilgrimage which had afterwards such an important 
influence on the civilization of the world, by publishing a 
description of the Holy Land.” 1 The date of Adamnan’s 
birth is uncertain. He was the fourth abbot of the monas¬ 
tery founded at Iona, by Columba, and is introduced to us 
by Bede as an ambassador to Aldfrid, king of Northumbria, 
(who was educated at Iona) to obtain restitution for an 
invasion on the Pictish dominion by his brother Egfrid, 
whom he had now succeeded. He was eminently successful, 
and secured the release of sixty captives whom he brought 
back with him. His residence at the court of Aldfrid induced 
him to become a supporter of the Romish time of keeping 
Easter, and, retiring to Iona, endeavoured to persuade the 
monks to become converts to his opinion. In this, however, 
he signally failed. Visiting Ireland shortly afterwards, he 
was there more successful, the Irish nation agreeing to the 
change. Returning to Iona, he again used his persuasion 
to induce the monks to sanction the Bomish time; but again 
in vain. “Worn out with mortification and regret” he 
expired in the year a.d. 704. 

12. He was led to write a history of the holy places of 
Judea from the following circumstance. Arculf, a French 
bishop, had visited the land of promise, Damascus, Con¬ 
stantinople, and many islands, and upon his return was 
driven upon the western coast of Scotland. After a time he 
visited Adamnan, and was hospitably received and enter¬ 
tained by him. Arculf related to Adamnan what he had 
seen and heard in his travels, and Adamnan committed his 
story to writing, which work is still extant. Bede has given 
us extracts from it in his Ecclesiastical History, the following 
being a specimen: “ Bethlehem, the city of David, is seated 
on a narrow ridge, encompassed on all sides with valleys, 
being a thousand paces in length from east to west; the wall 
low without towers, built along the edge of the plain on the 
summit. In the east angle thereof is a sort of natural half 
< _ • _____ . 


I Wright, Bio. Brit. Literaria, p. 203. 





168 


ENGLAND BEFOEE THE CONQUEST, 


cave, the outward part whereof is said to have been the 
place where our Lord was born; the inner is called our 
Lord’s manger. This cave within is all covered with rich 
marble, over the place where our Lord is said particularly to 
have been born, and over it is the great church of St. 
Mary.” 1 2 He also published a separate abridgment of it. 
Adamnan wrote also a History of St. Columba, which is 
likewise preserved. 3 


ALDHELM. 

13. We now approach the history of the father of Anglo- 
Latin poetry, Aldhelm, the most celebrated pupil of arch¬ 
bishop Theodore and abbot Adrian. Aldhelm was born in 
Wessex, about the year 656. Darkness was upon the face 
of the earth when Aldhelm’s star of light arose. He was 
the son of Kenter, a kinsman of king Ina, 3 and was thus 
nursed in the bosom of royalty, with such advantages as 
were in that rude age attendant upon such a state. His 
superior station in life gave him opportunities offered to but 
few at that period. And thus the age in which he lived, 
and the circumstances with which he was surrounded, con¬ 
tributed to the formation of the character of this great 
scholar. When but a child he was committed to the care of 
Adrian, who must soon have discovered from the rapidity of 
his progress that he was no ordinary pupil. After remaining 
under Adrian’s care for some considerable time, as is sup¬ 
posed, he returned to Malmesbury and placed himself under 
Meildulf, Maidulf, or Macdulf, a learned Irish monk, who 
had established himself there, and was endeavouring to 
improve the means of his maintenance by teaching. He did 
not long remain under the learned Irishman, however, for 
we very soon find him returned to his old friend and pre¬ 
ceptor, Adrian, in Kent, for whom he appears to have 
entertained a warm affection. The severity of his studies 
under Adrian again prostrated him, and once more com- 


1 Bede H. E., lib. v, c. 16. 

2 Bede H. E., lib. v, c. 15; Bio. Brit. Lit., A. S. period; Moore’s Hist. Ireland. 
toI. i, p. 285. 

3 Some assert that he was the nephew of Ina. 





ALDHELM. 


160 


polled him to take refuge amidst the sylvan beauties of 
Malmesbury. 1 

14. We are fortunately not left in ignorance of the 
nature of the studies in which Aldhelin engaged. In a 
letter to Adrian he explains that Homan jurisprudence, the 
metres of Latin poetry, arithmetic, astronomy, and astrology 
all had a share of his attention. Thus his acquirements 
were no less various than deep. The knowledge of that 
rude age was almost monopolized by him ; none of his Saxon 
brethren were his equals; and it may be fairly doubted 
whether any foreigner in England excelled him. 

15. Although a mere head stuffed with knowledge does 
not necessarily qualify a man for the pedagogue’s seat, yet 
it must be confessed that it is an important acquisition to 
all pretenders to it. Combined with the ardent zeal for the 
instruction of his fellowmen which Aldhelm possessed, we 
do not wonder that his scholastic engagements were attended 
with success, and that scholars from Erance and Scotland 
placed themselves under his superintendence. Thus have 
we briefly delineated the character of this important Anglo- 
Saxon personage under the phases of a student and teacher. 

16. Such a character, in such an age and with such 
alliances, could not long remain in comparative obscurity. 
We learn that about this time (i. e., towards the close of 
the seventh century) a monastery was founded at Malmes¬ 
bury, and Aldhelm appointed abbot. His energy in this 
sphere soon displayed itself. There was no time for sleep in 
that hour of darkness, as Aldhelm too plainly discovered. 
Through his exertions the monastery was greatly enriched 
by splendid donations of land, bestowed upon it by the 
rich. Nor was his activity confined to the abbey of Malmes¬ 
bury, for we find that he founded religious houses at Erome 
and Bradford. The religious controversies of the time did 
not escape the notice of Aldhelm, who warmly engaged in 
the dispute concerning the proper day for the observance -of 
Easter, and other church matters. During the time that he 
lived at Malmesbury it is recorded of him that he addressed 


1 Dr. Henry (Hist. Eng., vol. iv, c„ 4) upon the authority of Anglia Sacra, c. ii, 
p. 23, says that he received the earliest part of his education from Maedulf, then 
visited France and Italy for improvement, and upon his return became a pupil of 

Adrian’s, 




170 ENGLAND BEFOEE T1IE CONQUEST. 

the people as a minstrel in the open air, and by this means 
led many people to a knowledge of the truth. Thus were 
the effects of “open air” preaching made manifest in his 
day. 

17. The exalted character of Aldhehn’s exertions and 
literary excellences finally procured for him the highest 
honours. lie was at length made bishop of Sherborne. 
This bishoprick extended its jurisdiction over Dorset, Somer¬ 
set, Wilts, Devon, and Cornwall. He did not live long, 
however, to enjoy the honours heaped upon him, for his 
death happened about four years afterwards, according to 
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in the year 709. The most 
extraordinary miracles have been ascribed to him, as indeed 
to most of the great men of the times. Our ancestors, it 
would seem, thought that a man could not be really great 
without being endowed with almighty power. 

18. As an author, he was a man of exuberant fancy, and 
gifted with the true qualities of a poet. Some specimens of 
of his compositions which are preserved are of the highest 
order. Though Turner justly condemns his profuse imagery, 
and the continual neglect of his subject to exalt his meta¬ 
phors ; yet I cannot but think that he is unnecessarily severe 
when he remarks that he [Aldhelm] illustrates his illustra¬ 
tions till he has forgotten both their meaning and applica¬ 
bility. William of Malmesbury, an ardent admirer of the 
poet, greatly eulogizes his writings. Speaking of his style, 
he says, “ from its acumen you would think it to be Greek; 
from its splendour, Roman; and from its pomp, English.” 
Allowing these remarks to be the exaggeration of fancy, 
and even admitting the imperfections pointed out by the 
learned Mr. Turner, I cannot but regard his poetry as 
belonging to the highest class; whether I consider the depth 
and originality of thought displayed, its happy illustrations, 
or its majestic clothing. I subjoin a specimen, translated in 
Turner’s History, from which my readers may judge for 
themselves. 


Almighty Father! Sovereign of the world! 

Whose word the lucid summits of the sky 
With stars adorned, and earth's foundation framed; 
Who tinged with purple flowers the lonely heath, 
And check’d the wandering billows of the main 


ALDHELM. 


171 


Lest o’er the lands the foamy waves should rage ; 

Hence rocks abrupt the swelling surge control. 

Thou cheer’st the cultured field with gelid streams, 

And with thy dropping clouds the corn distends. 

Thin orbs of light expel night’s dreary shade; 

Titan the day, and Cynthia tends the night. 

From thee what tribes the fields of ocean roam, 

What scaly hosts in the blue whirlpools play ! 

The limpid air with fluttering crowds abounds, 

Whose prattling beaks their joyful carols pour, 

And hail thee as the universal Lord, 

Give, Merciful! thine aid, that I may learn 
To sing the glorious actions of thy saints.l 

This is doubtless a favourable specimen, but by no means a 
singular one. 

19. Aldhelm is the first Anglo-Saxon whose Latin poetry 
has reached us. His prose writings are open to more serious 
objections than his poetry. His fanciful alliteration, and 
other absurd whims, (in common with the Anglo-Saxon 
writers of that period) must be condemned in toto; never¬ 
theless, an allowance must be made for him in consideration 
of the age in which he lived. The fastidious taste of his 
readers had to be consulted, and that this taste was met by 
Aldhelm is proved by the opinion of Malmesbury quoted 
above, and from the estimation in which his writings were 
so long held. William of Malmesbury thus apologizes for 
his writings: he observes, “ they [Aldhelm’s works] may 
excite disgust in some persons, not duly considering how 
modes of expression differ according to the customs of 
nations.” Indeed, speaking generally, the writer who 
studies not the peculiar tastes of the times in which he lives 
will rarely obtain distinction during the period of his own 
existence, however much succeeding generations may be 
disposed to honour him. 

20. Aldhelm not only wrote Anglo-Latin poetry and 
prose, but he is also said to have written poetry in Anglo- 
JSaxon, though no fragment of it remains to us. His princi¬ 
pal works are a Treatise on Virginity (De laude Viginium), 
and his iEnigmata. Besides these, however, he wrote a 
poem on the eight principal vices, a Treatise on Metres, a 
Treatise on Easter, and other poems. 1 2 


1 History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. iv, p. 346. 

2 Bede, Wm, of Malm., Bio. Brit. Lit., Turner’s Hist, of the Anglo-Saxons* 




172 


ENGLAND BEEOIIE THE CONQUEST. 


HILDA. 

21. Of all the persons who interested themselves in the 
spiritual advancement of the Saxons few appear more promi¬ 
nent than the subject of the present memoir. Although not 
a writer herself (as far as we have means of judging), she 
was nevertheless the instructoress of those who were destined 
to influence the character of their countrymen by their pens 
as well as by their example. Several bishops received the 
rudiments of their education in the monastery of which she 
was the abbess, viz., Bosa, bishop of York; Hedda, bishop 
of Dorchester (and afterwards of Winchester); John of 
Beverley, bishop of Hexham, translated to York; and Wil¬ 
frid, bishop of York,—and it is on this account that her 
name is introduced here. Hilda was the daughter of Hereric, 
of the roval stock of Eadwin, 1 and was converted to christi- 
anity through the preaching of Paulinus, the first archbishop 
of York. After her conversion she intended to pass over to 
the monastery of Cale, in France, where her sister Hereswid 
lived. Detained by bishop Aidan, she at length became 
abbess of Hartlepool. In this capacity she introduced many 
reforms, and received the counsel and instruction of bishop 
Aidan and other learned men. After this she founded the 
monastery of Whitby, and became its abbess, introducing 
the same discipline which had already made her name famous 
at Hartlepool. Here she spent the remainder of her days, 
zealously and piously occupying her time. Bede relates 
a dream that her mother had previously to her birth, which 
he interprets as referring to liilda. He says that whilst her 
father, Hereric, lived in banishment, her mother, Bregusuit, 
dreamt that she was searching for him most carefully, but in 
vain; that at this time she discovered a most precious jewel 
under her garment, which, whilst she w r as examining it, cast 
such a light as spread itself throughout all Britain. 

22. At the controversy respecting Easter, in the reign of 
king Oswy, when Colman and Wilfrid took important parts, 
Hilda sided with the Scots, in opposition to the Homan 
customs. Her prudence and sagacity were such, that kings 
and bishops sought her advice, and her fame was very widely 


1 Eoger of Wendover. 



JOHN OF BEVEELEY. 


173 


extended. Before her death she was afflicted with a long 
and painful illness, for, falling into a fever, she suffered for 
six long years from a violent heat, and in the seventh year 
departed this life a.d. 680, in the sixty-sixth year of her age. 
It is related that a nun in the monastery of Hackness 
(thirteen miles from Whitby) had a vision the same night 
in which she died, and saw her soul borne to heaven by 
angels. A nun in her own monastery had a similar vision. 1 

JOHN OE BEYEELEY. 

23. How vast is the influence which an ordinary mind 
has over those persons with whom it comes in contact! 
How immensely is that greatness increased in the case of 
a master spirit‘of the age! Theodore visited Britain. He 
came from radiant Borne to witness the deep darkness of 
Britain—a darkness which might be felt. He and his com¬ 
panion Adrian shed abroad those rays of intelligence with 
which they were endowed. Crowds of pupils gathered round 
them, eager to receive the touch of their mantles. We have 
already noticed the illustrious Aldhelm, and now another of 
their pupils is before us—the quiet John of Beverley. John 
of Beverley is introduced in this place, not in consequence 
of his literary productions,—for we have no extant remains 
of his, although sermons and letters have been attributed to 
him—but in consequence of the position which he sustained, 
viz., that of a public teacher. He appears to have been 
born in the village of Harpham, in Yorkshire, and to have 
received his first instruction under the abbess Hilda. Upon 
the arrival of archbishop Theodore in England, John became 
one of his pupils, and appears to have made rapid progress 
in classical studies. Upon his return to his native district 
he opened a school, and among other illustrious characters 
the young Bede became one of his pupils. His reputation 
increasing, and his connection with royalty by the ties of 
friendship, procured him the bishopric of Hexham, which 
was at length exchanged for the archbishopric of York. 

24. His love of solitude was also conspicuous, and he at 


1 Bede’s Ecclesiastical History. 



m 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


length, in the year 718, retired to the monastery at Beverley, 
which he had founded, and died there about three years 
afterwards, i.e., in the year 721. 1 

25. Bede narrates several extraordinary miracles of his, 
some of which, however, (an allowance being made for the nar¬ 
rator’s exaggeration) may be explained as the natural effects 
of applied remedies. That the efficacy of the prayers of John, 
in recovering the sick, was perceptible we doubt not. Scrip¬ 
ture sets before us the consequences which might be expected 
to result from a Christian’s prayers, 2 and experience confirms 
the truth of the promise. Tet the extraordinary miracles 
related of him could only have gained credence in a super¬ 
stitious age, some of which, for curiosity’s sake, I will lay 
before my readers. We are told by Bede of a dumb man 
who was cured by the perseverance of the bishop ; of a 
virgin in the monastery of Watton who was taken ill, and 
was bled in the arm, that the arm swelled, the damsel was 
confined to her bed, and her death expected, when John 
opportunely arrived, said a prayer over her, gave her his 
blessing, and the maid afterwards recovered. At another 
time he healed an earl’s wife, by giving her holy water to 
drink, and requiring her to wash the place where her greatest 
pain was. This immediately effected her recovery, and she 
was able to wait upon the bishop whilst he dined with her 
husband. Again, we are told of his restoring a servant to 
life by his prayers, although the said servant had lost the 
use of his limbs, and the coffin had been provided for his 
burial. By his prayers he also cured one of his clerks, who 
had been badly hurt by a fall from his horse. We are told, 
moreover, by Boger of Wendover, 3 that after his death the 
people of Beverley bound the fiercest bulls and turned them 
into the cemetery where the bishop was buried, and that they 
immediately became tamed. The narrative of some of his 
miracles, however, is not only interesting but instructive. 
In the curing of the dumb we fiud the same method adopted 
by a churchman upwards of eleven hundred years ago as in 
its general features is pursued in our best asylums at the 
present day. I give a circumstantial account of this miracle 

- —— ^ - 

1 An"lo-Saxon Chronicle. 

2 James r, 15. 

3 Flowers of History, p, 135, 



JOHN OE BEVERLEY, 


175 


in the words of Bede : “ There was in a village, not far off, 
a certain dumb youth known to the bishop, for he often 
used to come into his presence to receive alms, and had 
never been able to speak one word. Besides, he had so 
much scurf and scabs on his head that no hair ever grew on 
the top of it, but only some scattered hairs in a circle rouud 
about. The bishop caused this young man to be brought, 
and a little cottage to be made for him within the enclosure 
of the dwelling, in which he might reside, and receive a daily 
allowance from him. When one week of Lent was over, 
the next Sunday he caused the poor man to come into him, 
and ordered him to put his tongue out of his mouth and 
shew it him ; then laying hold of his chin, he made the sign 
of the cross on his tongue, directing him to draw it back 
into his mouth and to speak. ‘ Pronounce some word,’ said 
he; * say yea.,’ (which in the language of the Angles is the 
word of affirming and consenting, that is ‘yes’). The 
youth’s tongue was immediately loosed, and he said what he 
was ordered. The bishop, then pronouncing the names of 
the letters directed him to say a ; he did so, and afterwards 
b, which he also did. When he had named all the letters 
after the bishop, the latter proceeded to put syllables and 
words to him, which being also repeated by him, he com¬ 
manded him to utter whole sentences, and he did it. hi or 
did he cease all that day and the next night, as long as he 
could keep awake, as those who were present relate, to talk 
something, and to express his private thoughts and will to 
others, which he could never do before; after the manner of 
the cripple, who, being healed by the apostles, Peter and 
John, stood up leaping and walking, and went with them 
into the temple, walking and skipping and praising the Lord, 
rejoicing to have the use of his feet, which he had so long 
wanted. The bishop, rejoicing at his recovery of speech, 
ordered the physician to take in hand the cure of his scurfed 
head. He did so, and with the help of the bishop’s 
blessing and prayers, a good head of hair grew as the flesh 
was healed. Thus the youth obtained a good aspect, a ready 
utterance, and a beautiful head of hair; whereas before he 
had been deformed, poor, and dumb.” 1 The character of 


1 Bede, lib. v, c. 2. 






176 ENGLAND EEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 

practical surgery in those days may, to a certain extent, be 
deduced from the application ordered by the bishop, and 
from the caution he gives the abbess of Watton. Keferring 
to the second miracle alluded to above, “ He asked when the 
maiden had been bled, and being told that it was on the 
fourth day of the moon, said, ‘ You did very indiscreetly and 
unskilfully to bleed her on the fourth day of the moon; for 
I remember that archbishop Theodore, of blessed memory, 
said that bleeding at that time was very dangerous, when 
the light of the moon and the tide of the ocean are in¬ 
creasing. 1 

BEDE. 

26. The next Anglo-Saxon writer we shall notice is the 
venerable Bede, a name held in the highest reverence, not 
only by his countrymen who were contemporary with him 
or who immediately succeeded him, but by all students of 
history even at the present day. The qualities of this great 
and good man were most exemplary, and there are few 
persons who may not derive a useful lesson from the study 
of his life, scanty as the materials for writing his biography 
are; and fewer still who may not obtain the most useful 
instruction from his writings. Living at a period when gross 
darkness had enveloped the minds of the people; when 
opportunities for prosecuting literary researches were few; 
and when the difficulties to be surmounted in accomplishing 
such purposes were many, Bede emphatically points out to 
us what may be done by perseverance. He clearly demon¬ 
strates that a willing mind may accomplish apparent im¬ 
possibilities. 

27. Bede was born about the year 673 a.d., somewhere 
in the territories of the monastery of Wearmouth, as he 
himself informs us. 2 According to William of Malmesbury 
it was in that portion of the territory adjoining Scotland. 3 
This spot, according to the glowing language of the same 
writer, was a perfect paradise at the time : “ it exhaled the 
graceful odour of monasteries,” “it glittered with a multi- 


1 Bede, Bio. Brit. Lit. 

2 Lib. iv, c. 24. 

3 4X111. of Malmesbury’s Chron., lib. i, c. 3. 




BEDE. 


177 


tilde of cities,” it witnessed “ vessels borne by gentle gales 
on the calm bosom of the haven” of the Wear. Here was 
Bede born, here he lived, and here he died. 

28. He informs us that at the age of seven he was com¬ 
mitted to the care of the abbot Benedict, and was instructed 
by him, and afterwards by Ceolfrid. He was taught theology 
by Truinhere, chanting from one John, who had arrived from 
Borne; and further had received the valuable assistance of 
the learned John of Beverley, the disciple of Theodore. 
Such valuable assistance to a man so diligent in his studies 
as Bede soon rendered its effects apparent, and thus was he 
able, as William .of Malmesbury expresses it, “to dazzle the 
W’hole earth wfith the brilliancy of his learning.” 

29. He informs us that he spent his days in the monastery 
of Wearmouth and Jarrow, yet it has been averred that he 
visited Borne, though there does not seem sufficient authority 
to support the assertion. He was probably invited to Borne 
by the pope Sergius, but he appears to have been prevented 
from going thither, as it has been suggested, by the unex¬ 
pected death of Sergius. The account he has given us of 
his own labours accurately describes his diligence. He says: 
“ I wholly applied myself to the study of the scriptures, and 
amidst the observance of regular discipline, and the daily 
care of singing in the church, I always took delight in 
learning, teaching, and writing.” His studies had a wide 
range, extending to every subject then taught. 

30. He was admitted to deacon’s orders at the early age 
of nineteen, and to priest’s orders in his thirtieth year. The 
unusually early age at which he was made a deacon gives us 
an idea of the estimation in which his character was held at 
this early period of his life. The scene of his labours being 
confined, the materials for his personal history are meagre 
in the extreme. We can judge of the character of his life, 
however, from his writings, and from the touching narrative 
of his death, written by his disciple Cuthbert. He appears 
to have been a man of delicate constitution. Upon one 
occasion, in a letter which is still extant, he excuses himself 
from visiting his friend, the archbishop of York, on the plea 
of illness. The complaint in his stomach from which he then 
suffered, brought on probably by intense study, seems never 
to have left him, and at length terminated his labours. 


178 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


During his last illness the words of the Bible were con¬ 
tinually in his mouth, evidencing the effect they must have 
had upon his heart. His labours for the benefit of the 
people extended to his last moments, he being engaged in 
the translation of St. John’s gospel during the whole of his 
illness. He finished this work only in time to utter the 
doxology, “ Glory be to the Bather, and to the Son, and to 
the Holy Ghost,” and then gently expired. 

31. His works were very numerous, the most important 
of which is his Ecclesiastical History, containing an account 
of the history of Britain from the earliest period down to the 
year 731. The most wonderful miracles are here related, as 
are, indeed, in every other work of any pretension at this 
early period of our history. Bede informs us that he was 
assisted in the work by the abbot Albinus, and the pious 
priest Nothelm, Daniel, bishop of the West Saxons, the 
abbot Esuis, and the brethren of different monasteries: 
these men furnishing him with information upon his various 
subjects. 


EGBERT. 

32. Egbert, archbishop of York, next claims our notice. 
Of royal blood, being the brother of Eadbert, king of 
Korthumbria, he possessed an authority which few even in 
those days enjoyed. Not only noble by birth, but pious in 
character, he introduced reforms which in other hands might 
have been deemed impossible. As a scholar, he was anxious 
to procure copies of the writings of the great, and thus 
induced, formed a library, at once the rival of Benedict’s 
and the admiration of the world. 

33. We are informed that Egbert was educated at 
Hexam by bishop Eata, and that afterwards travelling to 
Borne was there ordained. Beturning, he soon received 
what his learning and noble birth entitled him to, viz., the 
archbishopric of York. There had been no archbishop of 
York since the time of Paulinus, and the state of his see was 
consequently most discouraging. He, however, obtained 
the pall from the pope, which entitled him to assume the 
title of archbishop, tie now directed his attention to the 


EGBERT. 


179 


reformation of his diocese, and he was fortunate in receiving 
the suggestions of Bede, who directed his attention to nume¬ 
rous existing abuses in a letter still preserved. 

34. The library which he formed at York was of a noble 
character for those days. It consisted of the following 
works: 

Ancient fathers: Jerome, Hilarius, Ambrosius, Austin, 
Athanasius, Gregory, Leo, Eulgentius, Basil, Chrisostom, 
Lactantius, Eutychius, Clemens, Paulinus. 

Ancient classics: Aristotle, Piiny, Cicero, Lucan, 
Boetius, Cassiodorus, Arator, Yirgil, Statius, Orosius, 
Pompeius. 

Ancient grammarians and scholiasts: Probus, Donatus, 
Priscian, Servius, Pompeius, Comminianus. 

Other: Poets, Yictorinus, Sedulius, Juvencus, Eor- 
tunatus, Prosper. 

Alcuin, in a letter to king Eadbert, thus alludes to this 
library d “ Give me the more polished volumes of scholastic 
learning, such as I used to have in my own country, through 
the laudable and ardent industry of my master, archbishop 
Egbert. And if it please your wisdom, I will send some of 
our youths, who may obtain thence whatever is necessary, 
and bring back into Erance the flowers of Britain; that the 
garden of Paradise may not be confined to York, but that 
some of its scions may be transplanted to Tours.” 

35. The noble character of Egbert is thus drawn in a 
few words by William of-Malmesbury. He was “ one who 
thought that, as it is over-reaching to require what is not 
our due, so it is ignoble to neglect our right.” Henry of 
Huntingdon says that he was archbishop of York thirty-six 
years. In Bede’s “ Continuation,” however, it is asserted 
that he was made archbishop a.d. 732, and the Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle places his death in the year 766. 

36. The chief works of Egbert were his He Ecclesiastica 
Institutione, Exeerptiones from the Church Canons, The 
Confessionale, and Penitentiale. These works, as Mr. 
Wright remarks, are now extremely valuable for the light 
they throw on the names and condition of our forefathers in 
the eighth century. 1 2 


1 Wm. of Malmesbury, p. 62. 

2 Wm. of Malmesbury, Bio. Brit. Lit. 




180 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


BONIFACE. 

37. It has been our pleasant duty to notice a steady 
improvement in the literary character of the Saxons from 
the time of Caedmon to that of Bede. Theodore’s and 
Adrian’s learning is illustrated in the life of Aldhelm. We 
were hardly prepared for its climax when Bede flourished, 
so low, comparatively speaking, was the general state of 
learning in this country even at that time. It will now be 
our painful task to notice the decline of learning, and to 
enquire how this retrograde movement was brought about. 
Monasteries had increased in numbers, libraries had been 
founded, learning had become a little more respectable in 
the eyes of the public,—and yet, notwithstanding, learning 
declined. Three chief causes may be suggested to account 
for this decay. Civil contests, or internal struggles, widely 
prevailed. External enemies—the piratical Danes—were 
continually harassing the country. A greater interest for 
learning was provoked on the continent, and consequently 
higher rewards offered there. These great uniting causes 
produced the deplorable effects alluded to, viz., the decay of 
learning in England. Boniface was one of the few men who 
could then have stimulated the Anglo-Saxon population to 
renewed zeal in the cause of educating the mind; but he 
left his native country to propagate the ’principles of his 
religion amongst the heathen Jeutones, and at length 
accepting foreign honours, lived and died abroad. 

38. Boniface was born in Devonshire, in the year 680. 
His original name was Winfrid. In consequence of pre¬ 
cocious indications of piety, he was early sent to a monastery 
at Exeter. Erom thence he removed to Southampton, 
where, in a monastery under abbot Wynbert, he zealously 
prosecuted his studies. Ordained priest at the age of thirty, 
he soon conceived the idea of preaching to the Germans. 
At the age of thirty-six he went to Eriesland, and, visiting 
Utrecht, communicated personally with the barbarian prince, 
Badbad, upon the subject next his heart. Unsuccessful in 
that quarter, he returned to England. In the year 718 he 
visited Borne, and, under the papal sanction, commenced his 
labours amongst the Thuringians. Partial success attended 


BONIFACE. 


1S1 


his efforts here, but after a time he visited France. Thence 
he proceeded again to Utrecht, where he continued for a 
space of three years, and then returned to his former 
district—Thuringuria. Eeturning to Eome at the invitation 
of Gregory II, he was ordained bishop; and afterwards, 
with the sanction of Charles Martel of France, renewed his 
labours among the Thuringians. Numerous difficulties 
awaited him, not only from the opposition of the heathens, 
whose spiritual condition he sought to improve; but also 
from his intemperate zeal in rigidly adhering to immaterial 
matters of form. Numerous Saxon missionaries were invited 
by him to co-operate in his labours, whom he elevated to 
dignified offices in the church. By the advice of one of his 
converts he was determined to destroy one of the chief 
objects of the pagans’ adoration—a venerable oak. The 
heathen imagined that this oak would be protected by their 
gods; but the axe of Boniface, aided by a strong wind, soon 
destroyed the tree, to the great astonishment of the ignorant 
spectators. In the year 732 he was made archbishop by 
Gregory III. In the year 73G he attempted the conversion 
of the Saxons. Eeturning to Eome after visiting Hessia, he 
remained there until the year 740. He was in the year 745 
appointed archbishop of Mentz. After various difficulties 
and contentions with the popes, Boniface visited the Fries- 
landers, whom he had first desired to convert; but was at 
length massacred by them, together with several accompany¬ 
ing priests, in the year 755. 

39. Boniface has justly acquired the title of the Apostle 
of Germany. Few men, perhaps, have ever been instru¬ 
mental in producing more good than he. Despising the 
comforts and emoluments of a courtly life; fearless in re¬ 
buking even popes when he considered that their actions 
were objectionable ; indefatigable in what be deemed to be 
the path of duty, he has left a character in many points 
worthy of the highest admiration. 

40. The writings of Boniface were not numerous. The 
chief of those which are extant consisting of letters addressed 
to popes, kings, and bishops. The following extract from 
one of these shows his fearless conduct in repressing the 
errors of his time. Besides his letters he wrote poems still 


182 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


extant, whilst many of his works upon other subjects have 
doubtless been lost* 1 

“ To Ethelbald, my dearest lord, and to be preferred to all 
other kings of the Angles, in the love of Christ; Boniface, 
the archbishop, legate to Germany from the church of 
Home, wishes perpetual health in Christ. We confess 
before God that when we hear of your prosperity, your 
faith, and good works, we rejoice; and if at any time we 
hear of any adversity befallen you, either in the chance of 
war or the jeopardy of } r our soul, we are afflicted. We have 
heard that, devoted to alms giving, you prohibit theft and 
rapine, are a lover of peace, a defender of widows, and of the 
poor; and for this we give God thanks. Your contempt 
for lawful matrimony, were it for chastity’s sake, would be 
laudable; but since you wallow in luxury, and even in 
adultery with nuns, it is disgraceful and damnable : it dims 
the brightness of your glory before God and man, and 
transforms you into an idolater, because you have polluted 
the temple of God. Wherefore, my beloved son, repent, 
and remember how dishonourable it is that you, who, by the 
grant of God, are sovereign over many nations, should your¬ 
self be the slave of lust to his disservice. Moreover, we 
have heard, that almost all the nobles of the Mercian king¬ 
dom, following your example, desert their lawful wives and 
live in guilty intercourse with adulteresses and nuns. Let 
the custom of a foreign country teach you how far distant 
this is from rectitude. .For in old Saxony, where there is 
no knowledge of Christ, if a virgin in her father’s house, or 
a married woman under the protection of her husband, 
should be guilty of adultery, they burn her, strangled by 
her own hand, and hang up her seducer over the grave 
where she is buried; or else, cutting off her garments to the 
waist, modest matrons whip her and pierce her with knives, 
and fresh tormentors punish her in the same manner as she 
goes from town to town, till they destroy her. Again the 
Wenedi, 2 the basest of nations, have this custom ; the wife 
on the death of her husband casts herself on the same 


1 The above account of the life of Boniface has been taken chiefly from the Bio. 
Brit. Lit., A. S. period, p. 308, &c. 

2 The Wenedi were seated on the western bank of the Vistula, near the Baltic. 
In Wilkins it is “ aqua Persas,” among the Persians. 



ALeunr. 


1S3 


funeral pile, to be consumed with him. If then the Gentiles, 
who know not God, have so zealous a regard for chastity, 
how much more ought you to possess, my beloved son, who 
are both a Christian and a king ? Spare, therefore, your own 
soul; spare a multitude of people, perishing by your 
example, for whose souls you must give account.” 1 


ALcursr. 

41. Alcuin was one of the most noble ornaments among 
the Anglo-Saxons. Whether we consider his learning, as 
displayed in the extant remains of his works—or his wisdom, 
as exemplified in his letters—we cannot but feel proud of so 
noble an ancestor. Although he spent but the early portion 
of his life in Britain, he lived here long enongli to render his 
name famous; and, if he was of an ambitious turn of mind, 
he must have witnessed blighted hopes, and have seen his 
pupils preferred before him. We do not wonder, therefore, 
at his embracing the patronage of the then greatest of 
European kings, and have undertaken to reside where there 
was a greater prospect of success attending his labours, and 
those labours better appreciated. 

42. Alcuin was a native of Northumbria, and was educa¬ 
ted at York, under Egbert and his successor Aelbert 
(Ethelbert). Ethelbert having succeeded to the see of 
York, and also to the management of Egbert’s school, 
ordained Alcuin deacon, and gave up to him the charge of 
the school and library. The studies pursued at York at 
this period were grammar, rhetoric, poetry, astronomy, and 
natural philosophy. 2 Ethelbert died in the year 780, and 
Eanbald, 3 one of Alcuin’s pupils, succeeded him. Being 
sent to the court of Charlemagne, respecting a treaty of 
peace, he so captivated the heart of that penetrating monarch 
that he was earnestly solicited, and finally induced, by him 
to remain there. The emperor desired his assistance in 


1 Wm. of Malm., pp. 73 and 74; Life of Boniface. 

2 Turner. 

3 Wm. of Malmesbury. Mr. Wright states (Bio. Brit. Lit., p. 350) that he had 
Been to Rome to obtain the pallium for Eanbald, and upon his return, meeting 
Charlemagne was induced by that monarch to reside with him in France. 




184 ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 

promoting some praiseworthy reforms which lie had in con¬ 
templation. Here, we are told, he taught the king “a 
thorough knowledge of logic, rhetoric, and astronomy.” 
Perhaps, however, the children of Charlemagne were more 
efficiently taught by him than their parent. 

43. Alcuin returned to England on political business in 
the year 780, and was for some time detained here in con¬ 
sequence of the state of the kingdom; but, after a period of 
two years, returned to his old friend and benefactor. The 
counsels of Alcuin frequently tempered the rage of Charle¬ 
magne, and rendered him less exacting: thus was his in¬ 
ti uence exerted in the cause of humanity. 

44. Old age stealing upon him, Alcuin at length deter¬ 
mined to return to England and there end his days ; this 
resolution, however, was abandoned in consequence of the 
reports of the unsettled condition of his country which 
reached him. He therefore contented himself with writing, 
reproving, and advising the kings and bishops then in 
authority. The monastery of St. Martin, at Tours, was at 
length given him, and here he ended his days, and was buried 
in the church of St. Martin. 1 Towards the close of his life 
there was a temporary difference between him and Charle¬ 
magne, in consequence of his too stoutly defending the 
privileges of his church. His funeral, however, was con¬ 
ducted with the greatest pomp by the beneficence of that 
monarch. 

45. The writings of Alcuin, both in poetry and prose, 

are numerous, consisting of various epistles, epigrams and 
epitaphs, commentaries on the holy scrfptures, tracts on 
various moral and religious subjects, and treatises on 
grammar and rhetoric. Many of his letters to Charlemagne 
still exist. They contain valuable information respecting 
himself and the times in which he lived—sentiments 
the most sublime, and advice the most excellent. 3n 
one of them he observes : “ I spend my time in the 

halls of St. Martin in teaching some of the noble youths 
under my care the intricacies of grammar, and inspiring 
them with a taste for the learning of the ancients; in 
describing to others the order and revolutions of those 


1 According to Wm, of Malmesbury, in the church of St. Paul at Cormaric. 




ALCUIN. 


185 


shining orbs which adorn the azure vault of heaven; and 
in explaining to others the mysteries of divine wisdom 
which are contained in the holy scriptures; suiting my 
instructions to the views and capacities of my scholars, 
that I may train up many to be ornaments of the Church of 
God, and to the court of your imperial majesty. In doing 
this, I find a want of several things, particularly of those 
excellent books in all arts and sciences which I enjoyed in 
my native country through the expense and care of my great 
master .Egbert. May it therefore please your majesty, 
animated with the most ardent love of learning, to permit 
me to send some of our young gentlemen to England to 
procure for us those books which we want, and transplant 
the flowers of Britain into Erance, that their fragrance may 
no longer be confined to York, but may perfume the palaces 
of Tours. I need not put your majesty in mind how ear¬ 
nestly we are exhorted in the holy scriptures to the pursuit 
of wisdom, than which nothing is more conducive to a 
pleasant, happy, and honourable life—nothing a greater 
preservative from vice—nothing more becoming or more 
necessary to those, especially who have the administration 
of public affairs, and the government of empires. Learning 
and wisdom exalt the low, and give additional lustre to the 
honours of the great. By wisdom kings reign and 'princes 
decree justice. Cease not then, O most gracious king to 
press the young nobility of your court to the eager pursuit 
of wisdom and learning in their youth, that they may attain 
to an honourable old age and a blessed immortality,” 1 

46. Notwithstanding his intimacy with Charlemagne he 
had a continual care for his English home. Thus writes 
Malmesbury: “ He [Alcuin] says thus to the monks of 
Wearmouth, among whom Bede had both lived and died, 
obliquely accusing them of doing the very thing he begs 
them not to do: 1 Let the youths be accustomed to attend 
the praises of our heavenly king, not to dig up the burrows 
of foxes, or pursue the winding mazes of hares; let them 
now learn the holy scriptures, that when grown up they 
may be able to instruct others. Eemember the most noble 
teacher of our times, Bede, the priest, what thirst for learn- 


1 Turner, vol. iv, pp. 438, '139. 



186 


ENGLAND BEFOEE THE CONQUEST. 


ing lie had in his youth, what praise he now has among 
men, and wdiat a far greater reward of glory with God.’ 
Again to those of Y ork he says, ‘ The searcher of my heart 
is witness that it was not for lust of gold that I came to 
France, or continue there; but for the necessities of the 
church.’ And thus to Offa, the king of the Mercians: ‘ I 
was prepared to come to you with the presents of king 
Charles, and to return to my country ; but it seemed more 
advisable to me, for the peace of my nation, to remain 
abroad, not knowing what I could have done among those 
with whom no one can be secure, or able to proceed in any 
laudable pursuit. Behold, every holy place is laid desolate 
by pagans, the altars are polluted by perjury, the monasteries 
dishonoured by adultery, the earth itself stained with the 
blood of rulers and of princes.’ ,?1 

ASSEE. 

47. Asser, the subject of the present narrative, appears 
before us in the important capacity of private tutor to king 
Alfred. Of his early history we know nothing, and of the 
subsequent events of his life very little. What information 
we do possess of him is chiefly derived from his biographical 
account of Alfred. Ingulph informs us that he was bishop 
of Bangor, though others affirm that he was bishop of St. 
David’s. 1 2 That he had possessions in Wales we learn from 
his own words. 3 Paying king Alfred a visit at Dene, he 
was invited by that patron of learning to remain in England 
and devote himself to his service. Bich rewards were offered 
to him by Alfred, as inducements to comply with his request. 
Asser replied that he could not hastily agree to such a pro¬ 
position, as he thought it would be unjust to leave his former 
patrons, who had heaped upon him many kindnesses. The 
king then desired his attendance in England during one half 
of the year, if he spent the remaining half in Wales. This 
request, however, Asser could not comply with until he ha d 
consulted his Welsh friends. Eour days after Asser left t he 


1 Wm. of Malmesbury. 

2 See Dr. Giles’s Introduction to the sis Old English Chronicles in Bohn’s series. 

3 Asser’s Life of Alfred. 



ASSEE. 


187 


court to re-visit liis native land, promising the king to return 
to him again, after a period of six months, with a satisfactory 
answer. He had not proceeded far, however, before he was 
attacked by a violent fever, and was compelled to remain in 
the city of Winchester, where he halted for twelve months. 
It does not appear that he actually returned to Wales before 
he again visited the king, and promised to spend one half of 
his time in England. He states that he was induced to 
comply with the king’s wishes in the hope of securing 
assistance for his friends against a petty king of Wales, who 
had often ravaged the Welsh monastery to which he 
belonged. We know too much of the human mind, how¬ 
ever, to be satisfied with this specious pretext. The court 
was doubtless a comfortable place, and the patronage of so 
powerful a prince as Alfred was of too much importance to 
be slighted, even by the most unambitious. So agreeable to 
him, indeed, was his new situation, that his first stay with 
the king lasted for a period of eight months instead of 
three. 1 

48. We are not left in ignorance of the occupation of 
Asser whilst at court. One of his duties was to read before 
the king, doubtless from such classical works as the king 
could not master. Another duty was to prepare the works 
for Alfred which he desired to translate, by glossing them 
over. 2 A third duty undoubtedly was to assist Alfred in his 
studies of the classical languages, A fourth duty was to 
write choice quotations for the king in a small book called 
his Enchiridion, or Manual, which “ became almost as large 
as a psalter.” And well was Asser rewarded for his services. 
The two monasteries of Amesbury and Banwell were put 
into his possession. He was made bishop of Exeter, 3 much to 
his astonishment, and was afterwards translated to the see 
of Sherborne. 4 

49. William of Malmesbury speaks of Asser as being well 
skilled in learning; and had' we not this distinct assurance 
from one who doubtless had better opportunities of ascer¬ 
taining his real character, from MSS. now lost, than we 


1 Asser’s Life of Alfred. 

2 Wm. of Malmesbury. Introduction to Gregory’s Pastoral. 

3 Asser. 

4 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 




188 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


have, we may readily deduce it from those writings of his 
which are still preserved ; and yet more decisively from the 
interest taken in him and his employment by the discrimi¬ 
nating Alfred. The writings ascribed to him are numerous, 
though the only work generally acknowledged is his Life of 
Alfred, va] liable as containing much original information. 
He died in the year 910. 1 

PLEGMUND AND WEREFRITH. 

50. Plegmund and Werefrith were two of those men 
whom king Alfred delighted to honour. As was before 
observed, Plegmund was invited from Mercia and made 
archbishop of Canterbury. He was promoted to this office 
in consequence of the fame which he had acquired for literary 
qualifications, Alfred’s determination being to improve the 
southern portion of his kingdom through the exertions of 
such men as he. To him has been ascribed the honour of 
writing the early portion of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, 
though upon very doubtful authority. 

51. Of Werefrith we have before briefly spoken, and, 
indeed, only briefly could we speak of him. He is introduced 
here in consequence of the part he took in assisting Alfred 
in his scheme of improvement. He was made bishop of 
Worcester; but in consequence of the invasions of the 
Hanes he retired into Prance. He returned to England in 
consequence of an invitation from Alfred, who employed him 
in translating The Dialogues of Pope Gregory and Peter, 
his disciple, from Latin into Saxon, which he performed by 
sometimes putting sense for sense, and interpreting them 
with clearness and elegance. A copy of his translation still 
exists in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. 2 

ODO. 

52. Odo w'as one of those men who rise by good natural 
abilities and indomitable perseverance to distinction. Driven 
from his home by his father, who w r as a Dane, for listening 

1 Anglo-Saxon Chron. 

2 Asser’s Life of Alfred; Bio. Brit. Lit., A. S. period; Rapin’s His. Eng., 
vol. i, p. 115. 




ODO. 


1S9 


to the preaching of the gospel, he took refuge in the house 
of one of Alfred’s nobles, named Ethelwulf, and was in¬ 
structed, through this nobleman’s kindness, in the Latin 
and Greek languages. In these studies he speedily acquired 
a reputation, and at length followed his patron to Kome. 
He afterwards distinguished himself at Brunanburg, and 
was at length rewarded by Athelstan with the archbishopric 
of Canterbury. It is said, however, that he accepted the 
honour with great reluctance. He afterwards became the 
tool of Dunstan in displacing the secular clergy and sub¬ 
stituting the new order of monks. The old chroniclers 
speak of his treatment of Edwy and his wife in terms of 
praise, though we cannot but regard it with feelings of 
abhorrence. After the exile of JDunstan, Odo separated 
Edwy and his queen, and, as we have before related, treated 
the latter with the utmost cruelty. Odo was chiefly instru¬ 
mental in depriving Edwy of a part of his kingdom, and, as a 
natural consequence, of his life. That he was a learned 
man we have no reason to doubt, though one single letter is 
all that we possess of his writings. 1 

ETHELWOLD. 

53. "We have anticipated the most important part of the 
history of Ethelwold with which we are acquainted in relating 
the history of Edgar ; for that portion was spent in fouuding 
and repairing monasteries, and in carrying out therein the 
Benedictine rules. Hence he is styled “the benevolent 
bishop,” the “father of monks.” 2 His training commenced 
at an early age, and being of noble family he was soon in¬ 
troduced to the court of Athelstan. He became an inmate 
of the monastery at Glastonbury when Dunstan held the 
abbacy ; was at length removed thence and made abbot of 
Abingdon, and in the year 963 3 was made bishop of 
Winchester. The great purpose of his life being a determi¬ 
nation to improve the monastic system, we find him the year 
after his consecration 4 dismissing the secular priests of 


1 Bio. Brit. Lit.; Wm. of Malmesbury; Bapin, vol. i, pp, 115, 116. 

2 A. S. Chronicle, sub. an. 984. 

3 Ibid, 963. 

4 A. S. Chron., Hy. of Huntingdon. 




190 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


Winchester and introducing monks. In this attempt he 
was warmly supported by Edgar and JDunstan. Great indig¬ 
nation was excited against him, in consequence of these 
cruel and unjust actions, in the minds of those whom he had 
ejected, and it is even stated that they attempted to poison 
him. 1 He, however, little regarded complaints against 
what he doubtless deemed a sacred duty. The reason 
assigned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for this treatment of 
the secular priests is “ that they would not observe any 
rule,” which information is expanded by his biographer, 
Walstein, into an assertion that they led dissolute lives. 
Doubtless they were not guiltless in this respect, neither 
did their substitutes and successors acquire any very exalted 
character for their purity of living. 

54. Having beguu his projected reformations at home, 
taking advantage of the royal patronage he proceeded to 
extend his system of reform to other monasteries also. Ely 
received his first attention, over which he placed Britmoth 
as abbot. Then he repaired the monastery of Medehamp- 
stead, which he called Burgh (Peterborough). In restoring 
this place, papers were found relating its early history. 
These writings were taken by him to the king, who granted 
a charter to the monastery confirming the gifts previously 
awarded to this monkish habitation. 2 Ethelwold had the 
chief share and honour in promoting the restoration of the 
forty-eight monasteries during the reign of Edgar, mentioned 
by lngulph. Ethelwold was a patron of the arts, and in the 
numerous monasteries he restored and churches he rebuilt 
he had ample opportunities for encouraging them. He was 
no less an admirer of learning, and his perseverance in en¬ 
deavouring to obtain information rendered him one of the 
first scholars of his day. He resembled the great Alfred, 
not only in the ardour with which he prosecuted his studies, 
but also in his desire to diffuse the blessings of knowledge 
amongst his countrymen. He was a teacher. He rejoiced 
in the opportunity afforded him for instructing the young 
in the intricacies of the Latin tongue, and in reading to them 
f rom Latin books in their native iSaxon. He was charitably 
disposed too, as the following illustration will show. Upon 


1 Bio. Brit. Lit., p. 436. 

2 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 



ETHELWOLD. 


191 


one occasion he ordered the plate of his monasteries to be 
exchanged for food when famine and pestilence were stalking 
abroad in the land, “ observing that 1 the precious metals 
were better employed in feeding the poor than in adminis¬ 
tering to the pride of the ecclesiastics.’” 4 Hence we 
perceive the justice of the epithet in the Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle, of “ the benevolent bishop.” His only literary 
work which remains to us is his Anglo-Saxon translation of 
the Rule of St. Benedict. 2 He died in the year 984. 3 

EUJTSTAN. 

55. Those peculiarities of human nature which induce 
us to delight in the marvellous realm of fiction seem to be 
particularly dominant in the early ages of a people’s history. 
Nothing then is so attractive as the wonderful, no matter 
how absurd soever it may really be. A person must then 
work miracles to obtain distinction. A tale must then 
relate to the marvellous to secure a patient audience or an 
attentive reader. 4 The histories of Greece and Rome, of 
China and India, refer us to periods of time so wonderful, 
events so miraculous, personages so exalted, with which 
those of the present day can in no wise compare. And so is 
it in the comparison of ancient and modern British history. 
That the race of heroes, this the reign of common-place 
pigmies of humanity. Then the priesthood, armed with the 
authority of St. Peter, or at least with that of St. Peter’s 
successor, could bid dumb images speak, restore health to 
the sick, predict the character of forthcoming men and 
times. To none of those ancient worthies do the above 
remarks more eminently apply than to the “ blessed St. 
Bunstan.” 

56. Dunstan was born in Somersetshire, in the year 925, 
of noble parents. The extraordinary character of this great 
man, according to ancient chroniclers, was presaged before 
his birth. We are told that his mother, then enciente , being 


1 Bio. Brit. Lit., A. S. jieriod, p. 440. 

2 Ibid. 

3 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 

4 See Macpheraon’s Introduction to the History of Great Britain and Ireland, 
p. 10. 




192 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


engaged in public worship “ on the day of the purification of 
the blessed virgin Mary, the whole concourse of the city 
being in church with burning tapers, when the priest had 
adorned himself with the sacred vestments for the solemn 
service of the altar, on a sudden, whether by chance or by 
the will of God, all the lights were extinguished. In the 
midst of the general amazement the taper of Dunstan’s 
mother took light, and, by communicating it to the rest, 
restored the joy of all.” 1 Dunstan was early admitted into 
the school at Glastonbury monastery, and appears to have 
made rapid progress, not only in mental acquirements, but 
also in mechanical arts. His teachers were principally Irish 
monks who had settled there. Arithmetic, geometry, 
astronomy and music were there taught him, as well as 
biblical lore. 2 The forge was, perhaps a greater luxury to 
him than the book; at any rate the proficiency he attained 
in smithery indicates a natural inclination in that direction. 
Mr. "Wright, on the authority of his ancient biographers, 
Bridferth, Adalard, and Osbern, relates one of those extra¬ 
ordinary incidents of his life, with which the lives of ancient 
saints were embellished, or rather I should say disfigured. 
Intense study at a very early age threw the young Dunstan 
into a violent fever. All hopes of his recovery had vanished, 
and his friends even surrounded his bedside expecting im¬ 
mediate dissolution. But Dunstan was not so near death 
as the fears of his friends had led them to anticipate. For 
suddenly he arose in ecstacy, seized a spear, and scampered 
in haste over the neighbouring district. Dpon his return at 
night he ascended the abbey church, which was then being re¬ 
paired, by a most perilous route, and balanced himself upon 
the battlement. He then descended into the interior, and laid 
himself between the two keepers, who were much astonished 
when they awoke at finding a child between them asleep, 
especially since the outer doors were closed. 

57. Having finished his education ^at Glastonbury, he 
was presented to kiug Athelstan by his uncle Athelm, arch¬ 
bishop of Canterbury. His pre-possessing appearance and 
graceful manners soon won for him the favour of royalty. 


1 Roger of Wendover. 

2 Moore’s Hist, of Ireland, vol. i, p. 133, on the authority of Wm. of Malmesbury ; 
Life of Dunstan. 



DUNSTAN. 


193 


The good fortune of the favourite, however, soon deserted 
him. Dunstan was accused of sorcery by the jealous 
courtiers of Athelstan, who were so far successful in their 
designs against him, that he was compelled to retire from 
court.. He now took refuge with his uncle Alfheh, bishop 
of "Winchester. 

58. This was the turning point in Dunstan’s life. He 
had become the victim of Cupid. He was in love with a 
lady of noble birth and exquisite beauty ; but Alfheh, who 
intended that his young nephew should become an ornament 
to the church, for which he foresaw his abilities fitted him, 
advised him to devote himself to a life of celibacy. Dunstan 
objected ; but that aversion which persuasion could not over¬ 
come succumbed before sickness. He was taken ill. The 
cause of his illness was attributed to the divine displeasure 
at his obstinacy, and Dunstan was induced to vow to accede 
to his uncle’s wishes if he should recover. He was restored 
to health, and the ardent lover was transformed into the 
gloomy but zealous monk. He built himself a cell so low 
that he could not stand upright in it, and here secluded 
himself from the world. Deports of his sanctity now rapidly 
spread. In his solitude he had perpetual struggles with 
demons, who were ever haunting him, and as often he of 
course came off victorious. Upon one occasion he seized 
the devil by the nose with a pair of tongs, (his Satannic 
majesty having intruded upon him whilst he was working 
at his forge) who naturally howled so fearfully at this rough 
treatment that the whole neighbourhood for miles round 
was disturbed. 

59. In the reign of Edmund, Dunstan was restored to 
royal favour, and became the king’s chief adviser. The 
malignancy of his enemies, however, still followed him, and 
he was again banished the court. The circumstances attend¬ 
ing the alarming hunting expedition of Edmund, before 
related, induced that monarch to recall him, and to invest 
him with the abbacy of Glastonbury. He now proceeded 
to the monastery of Eleury, and, having made himself 
acquainted with the strict rules of that abbey, returned to 
Glastonbury and introduced them there. The secular clergy 
were expelled, and regular monks introduced. Through the 


o 


19 1 


ENGLAND BEFORE THE CONQUEST. 


bounty of Edmund, Glastonbury was richly endowed, and 
the fame of Dunstan rapidly spread. 

60. Dunstan enjoyed the full confidence of Edred, the 
successor of Edmund. Upon the retirement of his chancellor, 
Turketul, Dunstan obtained unlimited power over the king 
and his treasures. This influence was exerted by him in 
carrying out his schemes of ecclesiastical reform, and the 
monasteries of Glastonbury and Abingdon became richly 
endowed through his patronage. Edred offered him a 
bishopric, which he modestly declined, though honour was 
evidently the chief aim of his ambition. 

61. The death of Edred proved most unfortunate to the 
wily schemes of Dunstan. Edwy accused him of malversation 
in his office during the previous reign, and he was banished 
from the kingdom. Edwy’s miserable reign was soon termi¬ 
nated, however, and the accession to the undivided sovereignty 
of England by Edgar proved the signal for Dunstan’s 
return. Eoyal honours were now awarded him in rapid suc¬ 
cession. The sees of Worcester, London, and finally the 
archi-episcopal see of Canterbury, were successively con¬ 
ferred upon him. His authority in England became 
supreme, and even the powerful Edgar was overawed by the 
creature of his bounty. As an instance of this we may 
observe that the stern prelate enjoined a seven years’ penance 
upon him for carrying off a nun, and during that period the 
king was forbidden to wear his crown. 

62. We have before related the miracles he was com¬ 
pelled to perform to secure his credit and uphold his 
authority in his contests with the advocates of the privileges 
of the secular clergy in the reign of Edward, the successor 
of Edgar. With increasing age, increasing disrespect of 
Dunstan and his miracles progressed. He had ruled with a 
rod of iron, by means of trickery the most blasphemous, and 
his death was hailed with satisfaction by numbers who had 
felt the effects of his severity. He died in the year 988, as 
is said, and may readily be believed, of grief and vexation. 
His literary character is so ably summed up by Mr. W right 
that I take the liberty of transcribing it. He observes: 
“ The whole tenour of Dunstan’s life shows that his mind 
was distinguished more by its extraordinary activity, than 
by a tendency to solitude and contemplation; his leisure 


DUNSTAN. 


195 


employments were chiefly works of the hand, the mechanical 
sciences, and the fine arts. Yet he appears to have been a 
man of considerable learning, and not devoid of literary 
taste. Although he regarded the scriptures, and the writings 
of the theologians, as the grand object of study to Christians, 
yet he taught that the writings of the poets and other 
ancient writers were not to be neglected, because they 
tended to polish the minds and improve the style of those 
who read them. His favourite studies were arithmetic, with 
geometry, astronomy, and music, the quadrivium of the 
schools, the highest and most difficult class of scholastic 
accomplishments. He is said to have imbibed his taste from 
the Irish monks, who cultivated science with more zeal than 
literature. He also employed much time in his youth in 
writing and illuminating books, and in making ornaments of 
different kinds; for he excelled in drawing and sculpture. 
He appears to have possessed little taste for literary com¬ 
positions, for we hear nothing of his skill in poetry; he 
attained no reputation for eloquence, and the writings which 
have been attributed to him, of little importance in their 
character, are such as would have originated in the necessity 
of the moment. But his influence on the literature of the 
country was great; the innumerable monasteries which 
grew up under his auspices became so many schools of learn¬ 
ing, and the f£w writings of that period which now remain 
must be but a small portion of the numerous books which 
perished with the monasteries in which they were written, 
during the new series of Danish invasions which prevented 
their being re-copied and multiplied.” 1 

63. The chief literary production of Dunstan which has 
been handed down to us is his Concord of Monastic Buies. 2 


ALERTC OE CANTERBURY. 

64. There has been much diversity of opinion respecting 
this Saxon writer. Mr. Wright has dissected the contra¬ 
dictory evidence respecting the history of Alfric and bis 


1 Wright, p. 457. 

2 Wright, Bio. Brit. Lit.; Chronicon Monasterii de Abingdon; English Cyclo¬ 
pedia; Roger of Wendover; Ingulph. 





196 ENGLAND BEEOEE THE CONQUEST. 

works with great ability, and has given us a most interesting 
narrative of his life, from which this sketch is chiefly taken. 
He was probably born early in the tenth century, and was 
made archbishop of Canterbury in the year 995. Born of a 
noble family, lie yet received his early instruction from an 
ignorant priest; but subsequently becoming a disciple of the 
learned Ethel wold, he laid the foundation of that learning 
which afterwards rendered him so conspicuous. He became 
abbot of Cerne, in Dorsetshire, then bishop of Wilton, and 
very soon afterwards archbishop of Canterbury. He did 
not enjoy this dignity long, however, dying in the year 1006. 

65. The writings of Alfric differed from most of those 
of his contemporaries, inasmuch as they were written in the 
Saxon language. The purity of his object in thus writing 
deserves our warmest commendation. Ho less than eighty 
homilies were either translated or composed by him, pro¬ 
duced in Saxon, that his illiterate countrymen might not be 
debarred from the benefit of their study. The purity of the 
doctrines set forth in these sermons led the reformers to 
study their contents, and were thus the means of awakening 
an interest in the study of the Anglo-Saxon tongue. At a 
time when the few compositions of the Saxons were written 
in inflated Latin sentences, a glossary being often deemed 
essential to the comprehension of their meaning, it is refresh¬ 
ing to find so eminent a man as Alfric writing in so easy a 
Saxon style as to be considered by the learned Mr. Wright 
as the best Anglo-Saxon guide to be placed in the hands 
of a modern student of the language. 

66. Ho less than eighteen different works have been 
attributed to Alfric, amongst which, in addition to the 
homilies, may be mentioned a Latin Grammar, which pro¬ 
cured for him the title of Grammaticus; a Glossary of Latin 
Words most commonly used in conversation; The ‘Collo¬ 
quium, or conversation in Latin, with an interlinear Saxon 
glossary; a Manual of Astronomy; a Translation of the 
Heptateuch; Treatises on the Old and Hew Testament, and 
on the Trinity. Most of the writings of Alfric are still 
extant. 1 


1 Bio. Brit. Lit.; A. S. Chron .; English Cyclopaedia, 




































